TOBACCO . LEAF ■ 

Its Culture and Cure, Marketing and 
Manufacture 



A practical handbook on the most approved methods in growing, 

harvesting, curing, packing and selling tobacco, 

also of tobacco manufacture 



y 



.^ -BY- 

j/eyKILLEBREW, A. M., PH. D., 

For ten years state commissioner of agriculture of Tennessee, and anthor of exhaustive reports 
on the crops and resources of that state. Special expert on tobacco for the tenth I'. S. 
census, and author of its comprehensive report on the culture and curing of tobacco. 
Author of "Sheep Husbandry," "Grasses and Forage Plants," "Wheat 
Culture," "Elementary Geology for Schools." One of the Editors 
of the Standard Dictionary, Member of the American 
Association for the Advancement of Science, and 
Honorary Member of the Clarksville To- 
bacco Board of Trade. 

— AND— 



HERBERT lyiYRICK, B. S. 



Editor Niw England Homestead, organizer of the New England tobacco growers' associa- 
tion and of other tobacco growers' organizations. Author of "Sugar, a New and 
Profitable Industry," "How to Co-operate," "Money Crops," Editor of 
other agricultural journals, etc., etc. 

Afsistt'd by successful tobacco growers, dealers in the leaf, maimfac- 
liners of tobacco, and by specialists in the sciences. 






^i 



PRORUSElvY IIvIvUSTRATKD 



NEW YORK 
ORANGE JITDD COMPANY 

1898 



V 



TV 



>^\ 






Copyrigl't. l'^9". 
By orange jnHD COMPAKX 






\ 
U. DFC 2 1898 S.J 

TABLE OF CONTENTS. 



PART I. 

Essentials in Tobacco Culture. 

Page. 

CHAPTER I. Origin and Spread of Tobacco Cultnre 3 

CHAPTER II. Status of the Tobacco Industry— On the Use of the 

Weed IC 

CHAPTER III. Varieties of the Tobacco Plant 27 

CHAPTER IV. Classification of Tobacco Grown in the United 

States, and the Marlf ets for it 4fi 

CHAPTEIl V. Science in its Application to Tobacco 79 

CHAPTER VI. Manures and Fertilizers 105 

CH\P"-KR VII. The Seed Bed— Raising Seed 150 

CHASTE.: VIII. Transplanting '. 169 

CHAPTER IX. To Ijacco Barns and Sheds 179 

CHAPTEIl X. On Curing Tobacco 208 

CHAPTER XI. Pestsof Tobacco— Diseases, Insects, the Elements.. 233 
CHAPTER XII. Marketing of Tobacco 203 

PART II. 

Heavy Leaf and Manufacturing Tobaccos. 

CHAPTER XIII. Heavy Shipping Tol)acco 290 

CHAPTER XIV. Tlie White Burley and Manufacturing Tobacco ... 333 

CHA PTER XV. Yellow Tobacco 352 

CHA PTER XVI. Perique Tobacco. ..." 370 

PART in. 

Cigar Leaf Tobaccos. 

CHAPTER XVII. General Considerations of Cigar Leaf 379 

CHAPTER XVIII. Special Fertilization for Cigar Leaf 391 

CHAPTER XIX. Culture of Cigar Leaf 404 

CHAPTER XX. Cigar Leaf Tobacco at the West and South 4i!3 

PART IV. 

Tobacco Manufacture. 

CHAPTER XXI. On the Manufacture of Tobacco 452 

CHAPTER XXII. Tobacco as a Remedy 475 

APPENDIX, statistics, etc 483 

V 



3 



PREFACE 



The object of the authors of this work is to give a 
compreliensive account of the tobacco industry in the 
United States, and its relations to other countries. 
Great efforts have 
been put forth to 
make exact and com- 
plete the directions 
for the culture, cur- 
ing and marketing 
of the different 
kinds of leaf. The 
aim has been to 
make every chapter 
in the first three 
parts of the work 
essentially com- 




LEWIS R. CLAKK. 



M. H. CLARK. 



plete, though it has 
not been possible, 

in our limited space, to undertake a technical description 
of all the intricate and manifold processes of manufac- 
turing tobacco. The chapter on manures and fertili- 
zers has been prepared with extraordinary care and full- 
ness, owing to prevailing misconceptions ujion this sub- 
ject among both growers and the trade. 

The senior author has devoted years to the collec- 
tion of facts and methods pertaining to the Heavy Ship- 
ping, Bright, Burley and Perique tobaccos, and has 
carefully verified disputed points by experimenting on 
his own plantation. The junior author has compiled 

vii 



Vlll 



PREFACE. 



and verified the experience of the most successful 
growers of cigur-leaf tobacco in all parts of America. 

The authors have trav- 
elled more than ten thou- 
sand miles in pursuit of 
trustworthy information for 
this book, while thousands 
of circulars have been used 
for securing original data 
and practical experience, 
and hundreds of letters writ- 
ten to insure accuracy, to 
the end that the work might 
stand foi* years as an au- 
thoritative manual. No 
pains have been too severe, 
no distance has been too far, 
no expense has been too 
great, to 
make the 
work one 

that will commend itself to all 
classes of j^ersons who grow, sell, 
buy, manufacture, retail, export, 
import, or consume, tobacco. 

Co-authors with us in the 
preparation of this work, have 
been the closest investigators into 
the complex scientific problems 
involved in the tobacco industry; 
many of them the most observant 
growers of the leaf, and expert 
planters of long and successful ex^^erience in the field 
and curing barn ; while in preparing the very important 
portions relating to the marketing of the leaf and the 
manufacture of tobacco, Ave have enjoyed the invaluable 





F. B. MOODIE, FLORIDA. 



S. P. CAKK, VIKGINIA. 



PREFACE. 



IX 




F. K. DIFFKNDEKB'EK, PENNSYLVANIA. 



assistance of the most experienced experts. Without 
the generous aid of these gentlemen, a work of this 

character coukl not have 
been published. Their serv- 
ices are entitled to the full- 
est recognition, which is 
most gladly accorded. 

Among the scientists 
who have aided in the prep- 
aration of this book, special 
credit is due Prof. William 
Frear, in charge of toljacco 
work at the Pennsylvania 
experiment station, who is 
the author of the admirable 
treatise on the bacteriology 
of tobacco ; Dr. E. H. Jen- 
kins, yice director of the 
Connecticut experiment station, under whose manage- 
ment the famous Poquonock experiments have been 
conducted ; Prof. H. Garman, 
entomologist to the Kentucky 
experiment station, whose assist- 
ance has been invaluable in the 
preparation of the chapter on in- 
sect pests ; Prof. M. A, Scovell, 
director of the Kentucky experi- 
ment station ; Prof. W. C. Stubbs 
and J. G. Lee, director and vice 
director of the North Louisiana 
experiment station ; President 
Le Eoy Broun of the Alabama 
agricultural college ; Dr. C. A. 
Goessman of the Massachusetts 
experiment station and Prof. R, J. Davidson, chemist 
to the Virginia experiment station. Full use has also 




PROF. H. GARMAN, KENTUCKY. 



PREFACE. 




OKOKGE L. WIMBEKLV, N. C. 



been made of the excellent work done by Prof. E. S. 

Goff, at the Wisconsin experiment station, by F. G. 

Carpenter, at the Nortli Carolina 

experiment station, and by Dr. 

S. W. Johnson of Connecticut, 

and by Nessler, Schloesing, and 

others in Germany. 

Among tlie practical men 
who have contributed valuable 
aid, we would mention, in Vir- 
ginia, in Richmond, Hon. S. P. 
Carr of the Davenport ware- 
house, James M. Gentry, Cam- 
eron & Cameron, J. Wright Co, 
and William M. Dibrell ; John 
Sims of Maxwelton, HaHfax 
county, himself a successful planter, who has descended 
through a long line of successful tobacco growers reach- 
ing back nearly 200 years. Mr. 
g:"" "'^ Carr has never failed to respond 

W 2)rom])t]y and cheerfully for any 

f information, and when the facts 

"were not at his command, he 
has spared neither time nor ex- 
pense in securing data for us, 
and his substantial and ready 
assistance fully entitles him to 
sliare with lis in the authorship 
of the work. 

In Tennessee, onr obliga- 
tions are due to F. W. Taylor 
and George C. Carthrons of Mor- 
ristown, to C. Austin of Greene- 
ville, Jack Cronch of Clarks- 
ville, Hon. James G. Aydelotte of Tullahoma, Walter 
Fort and Mr. Harned of Robertson county. Otto Giers of 




WALLACK TAPPAN, NEW YUKK. 



PREFACE. 



XI 




Nashville. A. B. and J. P. KillebreAv, of Montgomery 
county, larc-o and successful tobacco planters, have sup- 
plied many valuable facts 
regarding the more re- 
cent methods in the 
heavy-shipping districts 
of fertilization, cultiva- 
tion and harvesting ; 
also Mr. J. C. Kondrick, 
president of the Clarks- 
ville tobacco board of 
trade, and M. H. Clark, 
the Nestor among to- 
bacco dealers of Tennes- 
see. Mr. Clark's high 
intelligence and exten- 
sive and varied knowl- 
edge of tobacco among 
all civilized nations, and 
his intimate acquaintance with the special types suita- 
ble for consumption by the various peoples of the earth, 
make his contribution to this work of 
special and authoritative value. The 
rich endowments of his mind are only 
equaled by the excellence of his ad- 
dress, his high courtesy as a gentle- 
man, and his gracefulness and perspi- 
cuity as a writer. His brother, Lewis 
R. Clark, a full associate in the to- 
bacco trade, is also a gentleman of rare 
culture and of varied attainments. He 
has never hesitated to comply with 
any request made of him for information pertaining to 
tobacco. Charles Dowell, of Robertson county, is enti- 
tled to our best thanks for the admirable designs fur- 
nished by him for building curing houses. 



THOMAS MASON, OHIO. 




jPCTft Pl^ 



I 



JOHN SIMS, VIRGINIA. 



Xll 



PREFACE. 




H. S. FRYE, COKNECTICUT. 



Kentucky's interest in this work, besides that 
already mentioned, is represented by contributions from 
Alexander Harthill, of Louisville, 
whose name is familiar to the to- 
bacco dealers of two continents; 
W. C. Thompson, of George- 
town, a large and most intelligent 
grower of White Burley tobacco, 
furnished minute details respect- 
ing the culture and management 
of that variety of tobacco; 
Thomas E. Browder, of Logan 
county, who for several years was 
associated with a large tobacco 
commission house, and subse- 
quently became a successful grow- 
er of tobacco, 

supplied valuable information respect- 
ing the types used in foreign 
countries. Single facts have 
been obtained from a large num- 
ber of the most intelligent plant- 
ers and dealers throughout the 
State. 

In North Carolina, valuable 
aid was received from G. L. 
Wimberly, an intelligent grower 
of Edgecombe county; Col. 
Isaac Sugg of Greenville, Hon. 
H. G. Connor and James I. 
Thomason of Wilson, and the 
Hon. Julian S. Carr of Durham. 
The name of the latter is known and appreciated wher- 
ever pipe-smoking tobacco is used. In South Carolina, 
we are indebted to E. M. Pace of Marion, Sydnor & 
Treadway and Bright Williamson of Darlington. 




WALTER A. FORT, TENN. 



PREFACE. 



Xlll 




W. F. ANDROSS, CONN. 



Thomas Mason of Cincinnati, the accomplished editor 
of the Westerji Tobacco Journal, has never failed to 
answer inqniries relating to to- 
bacco, and this work is enriched 
by many useful facts supplied by 
him. Mr. Lockwood Myrick's 
deep studies, laboratory work, 
and practical experience in the 
manufacture, sale and use of fer- 
tilizers, is hirgely responsible for 
the completeness of Chapter VI. 
A. W. Fulton assisted in working 
up the valuable chapter on the 
marketing of the various kinds 
of tobacco. 

Ill the cigar leaf portions of 
the work, Ave are particularly in- 
debted to W. W. Sanderson, one of the most careful and 
practical exi^erts in the culture of Havana seed in Mas- 
sachusetts ; Pres. H. S. Frye, of 
the New England tobacco grow- 
ers' association ; W. F. Andross, 
of the East Hartford section ; 
John E. DuBon, field manager 
for the Connecticut Tobacco Ex- 
periment Company ; Hon. AVal- 
lace Tappan, of Onondaga coun- 
ty, New York; Pres. W. C. 
Morse, of the Chemung valley 
(N. Y. ) growers' association ; 
Mr. F. K. Diffenderfer of Lan- 
caster county, and other Penn- 
sylvania growers; Mr. Jacob 
Zimmer, of the Miami valley, 

Ohio, and several Wisconsin planters. The chapter on 
cigar-leaf culture in the South and West i§ largely based 




ALEX HARTHILL, KY. 



XIV 



PREFACE. 



on the successful practical experience of Col. F. B. 
Moodie, president of tlie Florida tobacco growers' associ- 
ation ; A. Alonzo Cordery, vice president of the Cuban 
tobacco growers' company in Southern Florida, and to 
Dr. Jenkins' careful studies of the extensive operations 
with tobacco in Florida. 

It is also to the gentlemen enumerated that we are 
mainly indebted for the large number of original nhoto- 
graphs from which the en- 
gravings for this work have 
been produced. Pardonable 
pride is felt in the complete- 
ness of our illustrations. We 
especially commend the read- 
er's attention to the plates 
illustrating the most perfect 
plants of the leading varieties 
of tobacco. These jilants were 
grown specially for this pur- 
pose by experts, from the 
finest strains of seed true to 
the perfected varieties, and 
are believed to faithfully pre- 
sent, for the first time in 
print, truly lifelike portraitures of variety-standards. 
Even the cursory reader will ol)serve that, after nearly 
four hundred years of tobacco growing, there is yet much 
to be learned. The increasing competition in raising 
this crop in various parts of the world makes it necessary 
that American tobacco planters employ to the utmost the 
teachings of practical experience and a])plied science. 
This, combined with good management and the closest 
economy throughout the business, will enable the United 
States to hold its lead for another century in the world's 
tobacco markets, besides supj)lying its own consumption, 
with the cigar leaf heretofore imported. 




W. W. SANDERSON, MASS. 



PART I. 

Essentials in tobacco Culture. 



ESSENTIALS IN TOBACCO CULTURE. 



CHAPTER I. 

ORIGIN AND SPREAD OF TOBACCO CULTURE. 

The truth of the assertion made by the Chinese 
that they cultivated and knew the use of tobacco long 
anterior to the discovery of America by Columbus, is 
not sustained by any records entitled to credit by civi- 
lized nations. When or where it was first cultivated or 
used is one of the mysteries which rest in the unrelieved 
darkness of unlettered history. Pipes from prehistoric 
mounds in the United States, Mexico and Peru prove 
the extreme antiquity of tobacco, and pipes are found 
only in American ruins or mounds. Columbus, during 
his first voyage, saw the natives smoking it, and in sub- 
sequent voyages the fact was noted that it was used by 
the aborigines in smoking, chewing and snuffing. It is 
supposed to have taken the name tobacco, by which the 
Spaniards called it, from the tohaco, which was the 
inhaling apparatus of the Caribbees. Benzoni, who trav- 
eled in America in 1542-1556, says the Mexicans called 
the plant "tobacco." On the continent of America it 
was usually called ''ptetum" ; by the West India island- 
ers, "yoli." 

In 1558, Francisco Fernandes, a physician who had 
been sent to Mexico by Philip II to investigate and re- 
port on the natural productions of that country, brought 

3 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



r 



back with him the tobacco plant. The next year Her- 
nando de Toledo carried some tobacco from San Domingo 
to Europe. 

During the same year Jean Nicot, the French em- 
bassador to Portugal, sent some seeds to his sovereign- 
mistress, Queen Catherine de Medici, and from this cir- 
cumstance it was called herha regina. To commemorate 
the services rendered by Nicot, in spread- 
ing a knowledge of the plant, the gen- 
eric name Nicotiana was given to it. 

Sir John Hawkins carried it from 
Florida to England. Harriot, who was 
in the expedition under the command 
of Sir Richard Grenville, sent ont by 
Sir Walter Raleigh, which discovered 
Virginia and North Carolina, mentions 
the fact that the Spaniards called tlie 
plant tobacco. In 158G, tobacco was 
first carried into England from Vir- 
ginia by the agents of Sir Walter 
Raleigh, and its use soon became fash- 
ionable among the courtiers and the 
persons of quality. 

John Rolfe, in 1612, became the 
first civilized tobacco grower. He was 
SMOKED THROUGH A thc husband of Pocahontas, and grew 
TUKK, AS FIRST SEEN tobacco for cxport to the mother coun- 

BY COLUMBUS. . oi LI j:l t L^^ n 

Fro,n Lobers" History try- Shortly aftcrwards Sir George 
of Plants," 1576. Ycardlcy, the deputy governor, en- 
couraged the colonists to grow it for profit. In 1617, 
the streets, market places and all the open lots of James- 
town were planted in tobacco. But for tobacco, the set- 
tlement of Virginia at that period would have proved a 
failure, for it became the currency of the country, the 
measure of all values and the sole product of Virginia 
that would command articles of value in exchange. 



ORIGIN AND SPREAD. 



In June, 1619, twenty thousand pounds were shipped 
to England. James I, a pedant in learning and a fool 
in statecraft, made a fuiious attack upon the use of 
tobacco in a paper which he called "A Counterblaste to 
Tobacco." His kingly influence caused a duty of six- 
pence a pound to be levied on all importations of tobacco 
to the United Kingdom. So far, however, from the 
"Counterblaste" proving an injury to the planter and a 
check to the consumption of tobacco, it actually in- 
creased the one and benefited the other. Prices went 
up and the area of its cultivation was rapidly enlarged. 
From this period on, the col- 
ony of Virginia grew and ex- 
panded, and the narcotic 
which aroused the kingly ire 

of James became the founda- /\f./iW'n yy^^iUlihli^ 
tion stone upon which was '^ v-<VA\\ tt'^^^ye?^ 

erected one of the most |)op- 
ulous and prosperous com- 
monwealths in the New 
World. And so it came about 
that the beginning of law, 

. • f ' !.• J.1 FIG- 2. INDIAN SMOKING, A 

the expansion oi justice, tnej,jjp,gjj g^,ppLY of leaves being 
increase of commerce, civili- brought in by a female. 

1 , f, , From Be Bry's " Historia Brasiliana," 

zation, • culture, refinement mo. 

and progressive thought, rested upon the plant, the 
fumes of which were compared by King James to the 
"fumes of hell." 

Young women were brought into the colony after 
this, to become the wives of the growers of tobacco. In 
1620, and just before the Pilgrim Fathers landed on 
Plymouth Rock, ninety young women were brought to 
Virginia, chargeable with the cost of transportation, 
which was at first one hundred and twenty pounds, and 
afterwards one hundred and fifty pounds, of tobacco. 
This expense was cheerfully borne by those who took 




TOBACCO LEAF. 



them for wives. And thus tobacco first riveted the 
bonds of matrimony in the New "World, and made con- 
tented citizens of the little white band of adventurous 
spirits that first peopled Virginia. But for the profits 
of tobacco, the colony would, doubtless, have perished, 
and British civilization would have lost its foothold in 
the southern boundaries of North America. 

The profits from tobacco proved so great that the 
cultivation of the food crops was neglected. This con- 
dition demanded strenuous regulations by the Virginia 
company. In 1(321, the colonists 
were restricted to the planting of 
one hundred plants per head, and 
the number of leaves to each plant 
was limited to nine. Afterwards, 
the number of leaves was extended 
to twenty-five or thirty, and re- 
duced, in 1629, to twelve. In 
1629, 3000 plants per i^oll and 1000 
plants each for women and children 
were allowed. The crop of 1621 
was 60.000 pounds. 55,000 pounds 
of which were exported to Holhind. 
FIG. 3. TOBACCONIST'S Thc pHCC iu Euglaud for the same 
SHOP. LONDON-, iiwo. ycar. with the duty added, ranged 

From Bi-ath\v3it'.< •Smoking \ j. a „ .. 4. , , i n^„ 

vjje." from seventy-five cents to one dollar 

per pound. In 1676. the mother country collected from 
the dutv on tobacco 120.000 pounds sterling. The whole 
amount collected from the custom duties iu 1590, during 
the roign of Elizabeth, was only 50,000 pounds. This 
increase is largely to be attributed to the trade iu tobacco. 
In 1731, the exports of tobacco from the ProArinces of 
Marvlaud and Virginia conjointly reached 60,000 hogs- 
lieads of 600 ]>ounds each, wliich yielded 375,000 pounds 
sterling, or $1,875,000. The imposts on this were 180,- 
000 pounds sterling, or 1900,000. 




ORIGIN AND SPREAD. 



Warehouses for the inspection of tobacco were first 
established in Virginia in 1730, the object of which was 
to prevent the exportation of trash, bad, unsound and 
unmei'chantable tobacco. The minimum weight for a 
hogshead was 800 pounds. So rapidly did this industry 
grow, that in 1754 the exports from Virginia alone were 
50,000 hogsheads. During this period, tobacco was 
worth, in London, lid to 12.Jd per pound. Only 24,500 
hogsheads were made in Virginia in 1758, and the price 
rose as high as fifty shillings per hundred pounds in 
that province. The 
annual average ex- 
ports of tobacco from 
Virginia from 1 745 
to 1755 inclusive, 
were 44,000 hogs- 
heads. The annual 
exportation from the 
American colonies 
from 1703 to 1770, 
was G6,780 hogsheads 
of 1000 pounds each. 
For the four years 
just before the Kev- 
olutionary war, 100,- 
000,000 pounds were 
sent abroad annually. 
The average exports during the war of the Eevolution 
were 12,000,000 pouuds. 

Kentucky, now producing nearly one-half of all the 
tobacco grown in the United States, was settled mainly 
by Virginians, and the culture of tobacco was coeval 
with its first settlement. As early as 1785, Gen Wilkin- 
son, of Kentucky, entered into a contract with the Span- 
ish authorities in New Orleaus to supply them with sev- 
eral boat loads of tobacco. It is believed that most of 




FIG. 4. A TOBACCO " DRrNKER " INHALING 
SMOKE AND EXPELLIXG IT BY THE NOSE, 
AS PRACTICED BY THE DITCH ABOl'T 1(>00. 

Copied from a rare book on tobacco published at 
Rottenlam, 1623. 



8 TOBACCO LEAF. 

this was grown in Kentucky. In the sonthern and cen- 
tral parts of Kentucky, and in Tennessee, tobacco was 
grown as a commodity as early as 1810. Prior to 1833, 
by far the largest quantity of tobacco grown in Kentucky 
and Tennessee was sent to the market in New Orleans, 
where it was taken for foreign consumption. After that 
time, local dealers established factories in Clarksville and 
at a few interior points, and began to buy loose tobacco 
and stem it (i. e., take out the midrib of the leaf) for 
the English market. A few years after this, Henderson, 
Ky., grew to be a great strip market, a position wliich 
it still holds. From this time on, the Western markets 
for tobacco sprang up in many places. Insjiection ware- 
houses were estab- 
lished in Louisville 
as early as 1839, and 
in Clarksville in 
1845. At these 
markets, casks are 
PIPE OP V. AR. PIPE OP PEACE. Stripped, irom tne 

FU. .. PIPES OF AMERICAN INDIANS. tobacco, aud sam- 

ples drawn by sworn inspectors. These two i^laces, 
.Louisville and Clarksville, are the pioneer inspectioii 
markets of the Mississippi valley, and they opened the 
first inspection warehouses in the West. From the 
establishment of these local markets in Kentucky and 
Tennessee, the tobacco trade of the Mississippi valley went 
on increasing, until now it stands second only to cotton 
as a farm commodity for exportation. 

The New England colonists grew some tobacco in 
the decade embraced between 1640 and 1650, but the 
cultivation of it was, for the most part, abandoned dur- 
ing the 18th and the first three decades of the 19th cen- 
tury, when, by experiments first made by B. P. Barber 
of East Windsor, Conn., it was ascertained that a qual- 
ity of tobacco could be grown, deficient, indeed, in 




ORIGIN" AND SPEEAD. 9 

sweetness and in nicotine, and in those qualities desired 
in chewing tobacco, but in fineness and delicacy of tex- 
ture, in strength of tissue, and in glossiness and smooth- 
ness of surface, far superior to anything that had ever 
been grown in the South. It proved to be highly valu- 
able in the manufacture of cigars. Its culture brought 
great wealth to the planters of the Connecticut valley, 
especially in the years succeeding the Civil war, which 
culminated in an era of speculation and extravagance 
that was closed disastrously by the panic of 1873. 
Meanwhile, eastern Pennsylvania and central New York 
State, attracted by the profit in cigar leaf tobacco, em- 
barked in it upon a constantly increasing scale, followed 
by the Miami valley in Ohio, and by southern Wiscon- 
sin, until now more than 
100,000,000 pounds of to- 
bacco are grown in these 
states annually, not all of 
which may be classed as 
cigar leaf. 

The industrv ffradu-^^^-^* prehistoric pipe used by 

. -, J, -lown J. THE MOUND P.UILDERS IN THEMIS 

ally revived Irom 1878 to sissippi valley oentukies ago; 

1885, when the increasing From Smithsonian Report, 1848. 

importation of wrapper leaf from Sumatra curtailed the 
market for domestic wrappers. Serious decline followed, 
with virtual bankruptcy for many planters, until the 
tariff of 1890 imposed a duty of two dollars per pound 
on imported wrappers. The domestic cigar leaf indus- 
try promptly rallied, quantity and quality of crop im- 
proved, prices advanced, and prosperity seemed to dawn 
again upon the wrapper-producing sections. Florida's 
capabihties as a wrapper leaf State were demonstrated, 
although some excellent tobacco had been grown there 
prior to the Civil war. Prices declined after the national 
election in November, 1892, foreshadowing a change in 
policy ; but with a return to the former method, it is 




10 TOBACCO LEAF. 

believed that the home market for domestic-grown cigar 
wrappers will once more make this branch of the tobacco 
industry as prosj)erous as the culture of the leaf in other 
States for other purposes. 

The rise and progress of the yellow tobacco interest 
in the Piedmont regions of Virginia and North Carolina, 
and especially in the latter State, show one of the most 
abnormal developments in agriculture that the world 
has ever known. This leaf is mainly used for wrappers, 
chewing plugs, and also for making "fine cut" tobacco 
and cigarettes. About the year 1852, two brothers, Eli 
and Elisha Slade, owned farms which, in part, occupied 
poor ridge lying between two tributaries of the Dan river, 

in Caswell coun- 
ty, North Caro- 
lina. Upon this 
ridge, during the 
year mentioned, 
they planted to- 
bacco, and cured 

FIG. 7. MOUND BUILDERS' PIPES FOUND IN ^^ wlth firCS Diadc 
ROSS COUNTY, OHIO, U. S. A. £ i 

From Smithsonian Report, 1848. 01 CharCOal, reg- 

ulated in a definite manner. They succeeded, by this 
means, in giving to it a beautiful lemon-yellow color. 
Their neighbors caught the infection, and soon the to- 
bacco from Caswell county began to arrest the attention 
of the tobacco dealers by reason of its superior beauty 
and sweetness. High prices were paid for it. During 
the Civil war very little of this high-grade tobacco was 
produced, but between 1870 and 1880 its production was 
revived, and it is not an exaggeration to say that it did 
more to build up the prosperity of North Carolina than 
all other agencies combined. Old fields, that had been 
abandoned because of their sterility, became the most 
profitable farming lands in the State. Poverty in the 
soil, for once, became the first principle of agriculture. 




ORIGIN AND SPREAD. j.1 

The lands which grew the finest tobacco had light cream- 
colored soils, 93 per cent of which was siliceous matter. 
This porous, spongy, sandy earth, destitute of humus, 
and incapable of growing any crop without the most 
abundant application of manures, became the corner 
stone of a new agriculture. Tobacco was planted upon 
it, with the addition of a very small quantity of manure, 
from which the plant could derive sustenance until it 
approached maturity. When the manure became ex- 
hausted, the plant began to lose its vitality and take on 
every day a deeper yellowish tinge. Just before they 
were harvested, the 23lants turned to a beautiful color, 
like hickory leaves in autumn, and fields of tobacco at a 
distance looked more like those 
of small grain ready for the har- 
vest than tobacco fields. 

The sterilized spots, worn 
out and abandoned, grown up in 
bamboo briers, chinquapin bushes ''^^'" ^' m^J^^ng spun roll 

' 1 . ^ . TOBACCO, 1700. 

and sickly, scrubby pines, that in From an om poster. 
1860 could with difficulty be sold for fifty cents per acre, 
were soon in demand at thirty to fifty dollars per acre. 
Old towns that had been well-nigh deserted because of 
the decay of agriculture in their vicinity, suddenly took 
on new life. New streets were laid out, great blocks of 
buildings were erected, railroads were constructed, and 
the constant going and coming of hustling business men 
made a transformation as great and almost as quick, and 
certainly as profitable, as would the discovery of gold 
mines. Indeed, the yellow-tobacco interests of North 
Carolina proved far more beneficial to the whole popula- 
tion than the finding of gold mines would have been; 
Gradually the planting extended, first westward from 
the Piedmont region to the steep ridges lying at the 
foot of the lofty mountains in Buncombe and other 
counties in western North Carolina. Many thriving 




12 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



towns wore built up, hnndreds of prosperous manufac- 
turing establishments of cotton and tobacco followed in 
the wake of this new tobacco trade. In a few years the 
soils of the Champaign regions were tested for their 
capacity to grow this yellow tobacco, and the success 
with such soils opened a new district for its expansion 
and cultivation. 

Then the culture extended still further westward 
over the mountains, to the sunny .slopes of Unicoi, 
Greene and Washington counties in Tennessee, where 
its growth rescued many villages from decay and planted 
a prosperity in that region which it had never before 
enjoyed. Nor is its progress yet 
ended. North Georgia, western 
South Carolina, the white lands 
of the Highland Rim in middle 
Tennessee and Alabama, the 
white, sandy and clayey soils of 
West Tennessee, and of the hill 
regions of Mississippi, Louisiana 
and Arkansas, and the sides of 
the Ozark mountains in Missouri, 
FIG. 9. MAKING snuTf. 1700. Diay all bc transfomicd from re- 
From Fairiioii's" Tobacco." gious of Comparative jjoverty to 
regions of wealth, through the successful culture of yel- 
low tobacco. Every year, new territory is being tested 
for the growth of this tobacco. The thin, sterile, white 
soils around Tnllahoma, Tennessee, produced as fine 
yellow tobacco in 1896 as was produced in North Caro- 
lina, and this experiment opens a new field for its growth, 
embracing 500,000 acres in the center of Tennessee. 

Scarcely less interesting is the history of the culture 
of the White Burley tobacco. This variety originated 
in Brown county, Ohio, upon the farm of George Webb, 
living near Higginsport. In the spring of 1864, Mr. 
Webb sowed the Eed Burley seed. The plants came up 




ORIGIlsr A2S^D SPREAD. 13 

and grew with the usual appearance of healthy plants, 
except in one particular spot, where they had a whitish, 
sickly look, so much so that they were left in the bed 
for a time. In setting out his crop, however, Mr. Webb 
found that he lacked plants enough of a healthy charac- 
ter to fini.sh his planting, so he drew the whitish looking 
ones and set them out. For two or three weeks the 
whitish plants grew but little, but after they became 
well rooted they advanced with great rapidity, retainmg 
their creamy richness of color, and ripening two weeks 
earlier than any other plants in the field. 

When cured by atmospheric influences, the same 
process used in curing the Eed Burley, the underside of 
the cured leaves was 
of a whitish tinge, 
while the upper side 
was of a beautiful 
golden hue. Some 
of these plants, when 2^^ 
cured, measured six 
feet in length, and 
were so handsome in ,„ 

FIG. 10. TRANSPORTING TOBACCO IN THE 

appearance, and the olden times. 

tissue of the leaves was so fine, that Mr. Webb placed 
them on exhibition in the Bodeman warehouse in Cin- 
cinnati. Intelligent buyers gave encouragement for its 
further cultivation, and the next year Mr. Webb, fortu- 
nately having saved some seed, planted ten acres of it, 
whicli yielded 11,000 jiounds of tobacco, very handsome 
and silky, with all the characteristic coloring which the 
sample of the previous year displayed. When offered in 
the market it brought from twenty-five to forty-five 
cents per pound, and a premium of three hundred dol- 
lars, in addition, was awarded to the grower. From this 
''sport," which originated so unaccountably, there has 
been developed an impetus in tobacco culture in southern 




14 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Ohio and northern Kentucky as great as in the yellow- 
tobacco regions of North Carolina and Virginia. This 
class or type of tobacco was found to be more suited for 
manufacturing purposes and to the tastes of the Amer- 
ican tobacco chewers than any other. It is very mild, 
with a small content of nicotine, and its absorbent capac- 
ity is greater than that of any tobacco hitherto grown. 
For many years the demand for it far exceeded the sup- 
ply. The prices paid for the most trashy leaves ex- 
ceeded the prices paid for the best crops of heavy ship- 
ping tobacco. It soon invaded the famous blue grass 
regions of Kentucky. Stock farms were converted into 
tobacco farms. Blue grass pastures that had been the 
ornaments of the farms and the pride and glory of many 
generations of stock breeders, were plowed up and 
planted in White Burley tobacco. Exj)eriments were 
made in its culture in every part of the tobacco-growing 
area of the United States, but it was soon found, as it 
was with the growth of yellow tobacco, that it may be 
produced in its perfection only upon the soils adapted to 
it. The blue limestone regions of Kentucky and the 
drift soils of southern Ohio have almost a monopoly of 
its culture, as the light, sandy regions and whitish, clayey 
districts have the monopoly of the growth of the yellow 
tobacco. 

Within three hundred and seventy years the culti- 
vation of tobacco has extended from the streets of 
Jamestown to every quarter of the globe. Population 
has moved westward, tobacco eastward. Of all the 
stimulants and narcotics used by man, it is probably the 
least injurious in its effects upon the human system. 
Yet it may be injurious, and often is, so much so that its 
culture and use has ever been bitterly contested. In 
spite of all this, tobacco grows on every land and is used 
by every people. From New England to Louisiana, 
from Virginia to the prairies of the West, from the 



OEIGLN AND SPREAD. 15 

Indias of the "West to the Indias of the East, from the 
continental islands of the Indian ocean to the southern 
continent of Australia, tobacco is grown and consumed. 
Like its next of kin, the Irish potato, it has made the 
conquest of the earth. 

It is the greatest of all revenue-producers. It is 
taxed by every government. It bears a heavier burden, 
in proportion to its cost of production, than any other 
commodity. The governments of France, Spain, Italy 
and Austria make a monopoly of its manufacture and 
sale. England puts a tax upon it, averaging 1200 per 
cent of its prime cost. It is the stay of nations, the 
poor man's luxury and the rich man's solace. 



CHAPTER II. 

STATUS OF THE TOBACCO INDUSTKT — ON" THE USE OF 
THE WEED. 

The demand for prime quality tobacco is constantly 
increasing, because of the increased rate of consumption. 

In the United States, while population in 1896 is 
only two and one-half times greater tlian in 1860, con- 
sumption of manufactured tobacco is fivefold greater, and 
of cigars tenfold, to say nothing of five hundred cigarettes 
per capita consumed annually, which were unknown be- 
fore the war. In the twelve years ended with 1892, do- 
mestic consumption of cigar leaf tobacco increased forty 
per cent, while the quantity of manufactured tobacco 
consumed (smoking, chewing and snuff) Just about 
doubled. Exports have doubled within two decades, 
and now average one-third larger than ten years ago. 

The per capita consumption in France has trebled 
in little more than half a century, while a somewhat 
similar rate of increase is apparent in England and 
other European countries. In other parts of the world, 
for whicli statistics are lacking, it is believed that the 
per capita consumption is increasing even more rapidly. 
Add to this the growth of population, and it is evident 
that the market for tobacco is certain to be an expanding 
one. This is in marked contrast to the staple necessi- 
ties of life, such as wheat, rye and potatoes, the consump- 
tion of which for each unit of population appears to be 
comparatively stationary. 

An advance in the value of tobacco has been coinci- 
dent with this increased demand. If 100 is taken to 

16 



THE USE OF THE WEED, 17 

represent the average wholesale market price of Ameri- 
can tobacco in leaf during the year I860, its value for 
1891 averaged 140 in the United States, in England 
163, and at Hamburg, Germany, 85 (see table in Ap- 
pendix). The advance noted in America and Great 
Britain is partly due to the improvement in quality, 
only the better grades being included in the quotations 
averaged, while the decline observed at Hamburg may 
be ascribed to the bulk of low-grade leaf imported, in- 
cluding, of late years, increasing quantities from new 
centers of production south of the equator. 

The advance of 40 per cent in market value of the 
better grades of American leaf is all the more remark- 
able because of an average decline of 12 per cent in the 
value of wheat during the period under review, a decline 
in wool of 25 per cent, and of cotton 20 per cent. The 
general average for all farm products shows a decline of 
three per cent (see table in Appendix). In other 
words, tobacco alone, of all the great staples, maintained 
an advance in value in the three decades since the war. 
Nearly all values have declined since the exhaustive 
study of prices was made, in 1891-3, by the finance com- 
mittee of the United States Senate, but the general av- 
erage for tobacco shows a less falling off than most other 
crops, except in the more speculative cigar wrapper leaf. 
The tables of quotations in the Appendix, upon the 
standard grades of leaf in the principal home and for- 
eign markets, confirm the foregoing. 

Increased production in the United States, of leaf 
and of cigars, cigarettes and manufactured tobacco, has 
fully kept pace with increased consumption and export. 
The United States now devotes over 700,000 acres to this 
crop annually, about one-third more than forty years 
ago, with a crop twice as large as then, for it exceeds 
500,000,000 pounds in a year of average production. 
Nearly 300,000,000 pounds are manufactured for chew- 
2 



18 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ing, smoking and snuffing, a tremendous increase — ten 
times as much as was returned for internal revenue tax- 
ation three decades ago. The cigar output is also ten 
times larger and bids fair to soon reach five billion a 
year, while eight billion cigarettes have been made in a 
single twelve months. 

The development of the cigar making and tobacco 
manufacturing industry in the United States has like- 
wise been rapid. It employs about 150,000 people in 
about 12,000 establishments, against only 25,000 em- 
ployees and 2000 factories in 1860. The wages now 
paid are ten times as much as then, materials used cost 
five times as much, while the annual product of these 
factories represents seven times the value of 1860. In- 
deed, these tobacco products in 1890 exceeded in value 
the total of the printing and publishing trades. The 
people pay more for tobacco than for newspapers, books, 
or other literature — almost as much as for foot wear, and 
about twice as much as they pay for sugar. With a to- 
bacco factory product valued at $200,000,000, the last 
census affords this comparison with the values of the 
product in other manufactures : Boots and shoes, 1220- 
000,000; carpentry, $281,000,000; carriages and wag- 
ons, $114,000,000 ; cotton goods, $268,000,000 ; woolen 
and worsted, $225,000,000; liquors, $300,000,000; flour 
and mill products, $514,000,000 ; slaughtering and meat 
packing, $433,000,000; sugar refining, $123,000,000. 

Government revenues from the tobacco industry 
have kept pace with this marvellous growth, although 
the rate of taxation has been downward. Almost $50,- 
000,000 of revenue was obtained by the federal govern- 
ment from tobacco in the fiscal year 1891. Two-thirds 
of this vast sum was derived from the direct or internal 
revenue taxes on domestic leaf, and the balance from 
duties on imports (Appendix). Until internal revenue 
taxes were reduced by the law of 1883, tobacco yielded 




PLATE I. CONNECTICUT (East Hartford) broadleaf (topped plant). 

Tills beautiful engraving is of a plant grown in a field of several acres 
raised by W. F. Andross. an experienced planter in the famous 
East Hartford district. The seed has been carefully selected and 
inbred for years, this specimen representing average perfection of 
the variety. This plant is topped and is nearly ready for harvest- 
ing. When photographed, August 10th, it was 5h feet high ; length 
of stalk, 3 feet 1 inch ; top leaf, 28i inches long and 13 inches wide: 
largest leaf, 34xl9J inches; number of perfect or merchantable 
leaves on plant, 14, only one being a thick top leaf, three good leaf 
binders, and ten fine wrappers. Many plants are larger, some hav- 
ing top leaves 36 inches long, with largest leaves 43x23 inches— a 
truly royal plant. 

19 



20 TOBACCO LEAF. 

one-third of the total receipts from internal revenue tax- 
ation, and it now yields about one-fifth. Tobacco also 
yields ten per cent of the total customs receipts, against 
four per cent under the tariff of 1883. Altogether, 
tobacco now furnishes fifteen per cent, or nearly one- 
sixth, of government's total net ordinaiy receipts. 

The present status of the tobacco industry thus rep- 
resents immense financial interests. Many millions are 
invested in tobacco lands, barns, fertilizers, culture, im- 
plements, labor and warehouses. About $100,000,000 
are engaged in making cigars, cigarettes and snuff, and 
in manufacturing tobacco. The growers get, say, from 
$40,000,000 to $50,000,000 for the crop in its raw state. 
Aside from vast sums paid for help in the domestic 
trade, our tobacco factories alone pay in wages over 
$60,000,000, and their annual product exceeds $200,- 
000,000 in value. Tobacco is exported, in its raw state, 
to the average value of $30,000^000, while imports rep- 
resent about half that sum. Add to this something 
like $50,000,000 of revenue paid to government, and it 
appears that the annual stake in the United States to- 
bacco crop and industry represents the stupendous sum 
of more than $400,000,000. The duplication in this 
total is much more than offset by items that manifestly 
are not included, such as the permanent investment in 
farms, warehouses, factories and the like. 

Certainly the investment in this tobacco crop and 
trade, and its annual product, are sufficiently largo to 
raise it to the dignity of one of the most important of 
American industries. As such, it is well worthy of the 
most profound attention on the part of planters and 
agricultural scientists, of dealers and manufacturers, 
and of statesmen. 

All evidence and experience demonstrates what 
every intelligent tobacco planter knows — that only the 
best quality, except in rare instances, pays a real profit. 



THE USE OF THE WEED. 21 

And with the increasing competition of foreign leaf in 
the markets of the world, it is evident that the suprem- 
acy of American tobaccos will depend, in great measure, 
upon their quality. Present profits and future prosper- 
ity will be governed by the quality of the leaf produced. 
This fact cannot be too often reiterated. To this end, 
our scientists must cooperate most earnestly with plant- 
ers, while much is yet to be learned about preservation 
and improvement of quality in the processes of packing, 
handling and manufacturing. 

Our statesmen must also be educated to pursue a 
policy that shall develop, instead of discourage, this 
great industry. This country's policy of removing 
every possible obstruction in the way of domestic tobacco 
culture, trading and manufacture, is the only right 
method. The product can stand a reasonable amount 
of direct taxation, when imposed and collected by the 
comparatively simj^le and effective system now in vogue. 
It imposes on growers no restrictions of any moment, 
while taxes on the finished product and on licenses are 
moderate, and are collected with little friction. 

While we should jealously guard ouj; interests in 
the foreign market for the surplus of American leaf, 
the certain increase in production and quality in other 
parts of the world must be reckoned upon. The idiotic 
restrictions on tobacco culture in other countries (it is 
prohibited in Great Britain and Spain, and seriously 
hampered in other European States), are likely to be 
succeeded by the American system, which is equally 
successful as a revenue producer, without depriving farm- 
ers of the benefits of growing this profitable crop. 
The longer those restrictions are maintained abroad, 
the better the opportunity for American leaf in for- 
eign markets. But it is inevitable that these older 
nations will gradually encourage tobacco culture, while 
newer lauds possess vast areas of soil, now virgin to 



22 TOBACCO LEAF. 

this crop, where it is destined to be growm on a com- 
mercial scale. 

Thus the present status of the tobacco industry 
throughout the world emphasizes the wisdom of guaran- 
teeing the home market to the American producer. 
How important this is, appears from the fact that within 
less than two decades our imports of tobacco have 
jumped from a nominal figure to equal half the value of 
our tobacco exports — the latter a fruit of four hundred 
years of effort ! To buy foreign leaf at an average of 
sixty cents a pound, and pay for it with domestic to- 
bacco at eight cents per pound, is a j)olicy that cannot 
be justified by any economic theory, when the truth is 
that leaf of the same quality as the imported can be 
grown in the United States. 

IS TOBACCO INJURIOUS TO THE HEALTH OF THE 
BODY, THE MORALS, OR THE INTELLECTUAL 
FACULTIES ? 

The enormous increase in the consumption of to- 
bacco, previously outlined, has been accomplished in the 
face of what was formerly the bitterest opposition. 
During the past twenty years this feeling against the 
tobacco habit has somewhat waned, until the campaign 
against the weed is now mainly directed against its being 
indulged in by the young, or to excess by the old. 
Snuff taking is on the decrease, it is a question Avhether 
chewing is not also on the decline, and the vast increase 
is in the various ways of consuming tobacco by smoking. 

Tobacco has, on the one hand, been denounced as 
the fruitful parent of all that is physically injurious or 
morally depraved, and on the other hand, its use is re- 
garded as innocent, wholesome, pleasing and comforting, 
adding to the happiness, while subtracting nothing from 
the health of the body, or from the elevation of the mor- 
als or the clearness of the intellectual faculties. The 




PLATE II. CONNECTICUT BKOADLEAF (ill flOWer). 

Complete or perfect plant of the variety shown in Plate I. This plant 
was slightly wilted when photographed a few minutes after being 
lifted from the soil. 

23 



24 TOBACCO LEAF. 

truth seems to lie between these extremes. With per- 
sons of weak bodies or nervous temperaments, the use of 
tobacco is unquestionably injurious, while persons of 
full habit and sluggish minds frequently derive great 
benefit from its use. 

Norman Kerr, M. D., F. L. S., of London, Eng- 
land, who is probably the highest authority among the 
English-speaking peoples in all matters pertaining to 
the effects of narcotics and stimulants upon the human 
system, says : "With persons of a certain temperament 
the use of tobacco j)roduces concentration of thought, 
mental satisfaction, protection against infection, and 
domestic happiness." "There are i^ersous," he says, 
"so constituted that the intellectual powers require to 
be arrested and concentrated before any definite intel- 
lectual effort can be even entered upon. To such per- 
sons tobacco smoking has proved invaluable, the advan- 
tages far outweighing the disadvantages. No other 
substance, narcotic or anaesthetic, is yet known which 
would serve this purpose and do so little damage." 
"Were tobacco not known," he continues, "the idiosyn- 
crasies of such individuals would interfere with the 
achievement and excellence of their work. All those 
with whom tobacco does not disagree realize fully the 
pleasure and mental satisfaction afforded by its use." 

"No language," says Dr. Kerr, "can accurately 
describe the comfort enjoyed from a pipe, when exposed 
to severe weather in trenches, or the power it has to 
stay the stomach-crave when no food is to be had, and 
this action of tobacco, under such circumstances, cannot 
be harmful." 

Tobacco, as a powerful and efficient disinfectant, 
has long been known, and within recent years this has 
been fully demonstrated by an ingenious series of exper- 
iments performed by Tazzinari, of Rome, which are 
reported in the Annual of Universal Medical Science for 



THE USE OF THE WEED. 25 

1893. Tobacco smoke was passed from ten to thirty min- 
utes through the interior of hollow bells lined with gelatin 
containing disease germs, and it was found that the bacilli 
of Asiatic cholera and of pneumonia were destroyed. 

Dr. Kerr says that, though not having used tobacco 
for many years, he would not think of going through a 
yellow-fever ward, unless after a full meal, without a 
lighted pijje or cigar or cigarette. "There are many 
persons," he continues, "cultured and uncultured, but 
especially the former, who, after an exhausting day's 
work with head or hands, are so worn out and irritable 
that everything appears wrong, from the cooking of the 
food to the playfulness of the children, but who, when 
they have had a smoke, are pleased with tliemselves and 
all the world besides." 

Dr. Kerr, after long and patient investigation^ car- 
ried on through years under the most favorable condi- 
tions for arriving at the truth, declares that tobacco 
never impairs or destroys moral capacity or leads to of- 
fences against morality or to acts of criminal violence. 
"The poison of tobacco," he says, "has effected phys- 
ical injuries, but appears to leave untouched the con- 
science and the moral sense." Nor does he believe the 
habit of using tobacco increases the desire to use other 
stimulants or narcotics. Indeed, it would seem, from 
the concurrent testimony of all nations, that among 
those in which tobacco is most generally used there 
appears to be the least liability among the inhabitants 
to contract the habit of using morphine, opium, cocaine, 
hasheesh and other obnoxious and more injurious drugs. 
So it may, with truth, be said that if tobacco has no other 
merit, it at least diminishes the desire among those 
habituated to its use of wishing to substitute more dele- 
terious substances in its place. 

An almost complete answer to the assertion that 
tobacco is highly injurious to the health of those who 



26 TOBACCO LEAF. 

use it, is found in the fact that probably seventy-five per 
cent of the male population in Europe and America uses 
tobacco in one or some of the many ways it is prepared 
for consumption, while not over one-tenth of the female 
population uses it in any form whatever. Yet statistics 
show that men are as healthy as women in every 
country. 

In view of all these facts, there is every reason to 
believe that the consumption of tobacco will continue to 
increase in far greater ratio than population. It there- 
fore appears to be one of the safest, surest and most 
profitable crops for the planter, and equally established 
as a success for the manufacturer and retailer. 



CHAPTER III. 

VARIETIES OF THE TOBACCO PLANT. 

Tobacco beloDgs to the nightshade (SolanacecB) 
family, which embraces in its genera a number of well- 
known plants and vegetables. Among them are red 
pepper, JamestoAvn or jimson weed, petunia, Irish po- 
tato, tomato, egg plant and tobacco. The genus Nico- 
tiana is of American origin, and embraces fifty or more 
species, one of which, Tabacum, supplies nearly all the 
tobacco of commerce. The tobacco plant {Nicotia7ia 
Tabacum) grows from two to nine feet high, with wide- 
spreading leaves, ovate, oblong or lanceolate in form. 
The leaves are alternately attaclied to the stalk spirally, 
so that the ninth leaf overhangs the first, and the tenth 
leaf the second. The distance between the leaves, on 
the stalk, is about two inches, in ordinary varieties. 
The fiowers are in large clusters, with corollas of rose 
color, or white tinged with pink, and about two inches 
long, funnel-shaped, with infiated throats. Tobacco is 
a rank, acrid narcotic, viscidly pubescent, leaves and 
stalk covered with soft, downy hair. The seed pods 
have two valves. 

In Mexico and tropical countries the tobacco plant 
becomes perennial. The writer has seen it growing in 
the deep, narrow valleys, or harranr.as, of the Sierra Madre 
mountains in Mexico, without cultivation. The same 
stalk sends forth new sprouts from year to year, the 
leaves from which are gathered by the natives just before 
the seed matures, cured in the sun to a dull, greenish 
color, and when crumbled, are used by the peons and 

27 




PLATE III. HAVANA SEEDLEAF (lopped plant). 

Photographed from same field and at same time as Plate IV. Hi^ht 
of plant, ih feet ; number of merchantable leaves on average topped 
plant, 15 to 18. Top leaves are from 22 1o 27 inclies long, and from 
14 to 16 inches wide; middle leaves 28 to 34 inches long, 16 to l!i 
inches wide; bottom leaves 20 to 25 inches long, and 11 to 15 inches 
wide. 



28 



VARIETIES OF THE PLANT. 29 

Indians for cigarette smoking. The inner, or softer 
portions, of the corn shucks, or husks, are employed for 
wrappers for the cigarettes. The species found in Mex- 
ico growing wild is very much branched, and is supposed 
to be the Nicotiana riistica, which was extensively cul- 
tivated by the ancient Mexicans, and gradually spread 
northward. It is stated that a plant of this species, 
even now, is occasionally found growing wild in New 
York, and is looked upon as a relic of the cultivation of 
tobacco by the Indians. It is more hardy than the com- 
mon species, and it has ovate leaves attached to the 
stalk by long, naked stems, similar to those of the fern. 
It has dull greenish-yellow flowers. Some of this spe- 
cies is cultivated in Germany, Sweden and Russia, by 
the peasantry. The Turkish, Hungarian and Latakia 
tobacco is probably of this species. 

Another species is cultivated in Shiraz, Persia, 
known as Nicotiana Persica. It has white flowers, and, 
unlike the last mentioned, the leaves, at the point of 
junction, almost enwrap the stalk. This tobacco, when 
cured, has a yellowish color, is mild in flavor, and is 
almost exclusively used for pipe smoking. 

A variety known as Yara is cultivated in Cuba. It 
is probably the species known as Nicotiana repanda. 
It has a totally different flavor from the Havana. It is 
mostly grown for home consumption. One or two other 
species have been cultivated, to some extent, but they 
hardly deserve mention. 

No plant is so easily modified by climate, soil, and 
different methods of cultivation, as tobacco. Climate 
imparts flavor ; soil determines texture. The nearly 
inodorous product of the seedleaf districts of our North- 
ern States (north of the 40th degree of latitude), if 
planted South, acquires, in a few generations, the sweet- 
ness of the Southern tobacco. In amplitude of leaf it 
decreases, but increases in thickness, sweetness, and in 



30 TOBACCO LEAF. 

the time required for ripening. On the other hand, if 
the sweet Havana or Virginia tobacco is grown in Con- 
necticut or Pennsylvania, it becomes, year by year, more 
delicate in texture, and. more leafy and less sweet. The 
fibers grow small, but the thickness of the leaf decreases, 
and in time it makes a fine wrapper, but a poor filler. 
It also grows quicker and ripens earlier than it did 
further South. Attempts have often been made, in the 
Sou til, to grow the seedleaf tobacco, but always with 
failure. The writer once sowed seed of the best Penn- 
sylvania seedloaf variety, and planted a crop ujion soils 
in Tennessee, resembling, in all particulars, the soils 
upon Avhich it is grown in Pennsylvania. The very first 
year, the leaves narrowed and became too thick for cigar 
wrajipers ; the color, from a dark brown, became a cin- 
namon red ; the aroma changed from that of the damp- 
ish cigar odor to that of sweet chewing tobacco. The 
comparatively gumless leaf of the parent became a rich, 
waxy leaf Avith the offspring. And this was the result 
of an experiment lasting for one year only. The modi- 
fication vvas so pronounced that no one would have taken 
it for a seedleaf variety. The Florida seedleaf, so 
called, resembles the tobacco of Cuba more than it does 
the tobacco of the seedleaf districts of the North. It 
is thick, heavy, less expensive, and not so delicate of 
fiber, but often very fragrant, Avith an odor not unlike 
that of the Cuba tobacco, but not so strong. 

The long period of growth, in the Southern States, 
gives tobacco ample time for the elaboration in its vesic- 
ular system of the oils and waxes and gums that contrib- 
ute to its sweetness and fragrance. Even saccharine juices 
have been found stored up, in large quantity, in some of 
the yellow tobacco of North Carolina and Virginia. We 
infer, therefore, that two causes are constantly in opera- 
tion to increase the number, or modify the character, 
of existing varieties. These are soil and climate. 



VAEIETIES OF THE PLANT. 31 

Another Ciiuse, still greater, perhaps, and one that 
has a more powerful effect in determining the shape of 
the leaves and the peculiarities of the plant, is the cross- 
fertilization of different varieties. From two varieties, 
the one with a narrow leaf, and the other with a broad 
leaf, by cross-fertilization may be produced one partak- 
ing of the character of both. Planted on the same farm, 
and even in the same field, they will jiroduce some 
modification of variety in the succeeding crop, although 
the utmost pains may be taken to prevent this, by turn- 
ing out the seed heads of the two varieties as far apart 
as jiossible. Any one who has grown a few hundred 
plants of Cuba tobacco, for domestic use, on a farm 
where the heavy export tobacco is jn'oduced from the 
Big Orinoco, the Medley Pryor, or tlie Beat-All, knows 
that in the crop of the succeeding year many growing 
plants will be found with the sweetish odor of the Cuba 
tobacco, growing side by side with the heavy varieties. 

It is exceedingly imjjortant, therefore, in conse- 
quence of the readiness with which the varieties mix, that 
in order to keep a desirable variety from deterioration, 
no two varieties shall be planted upon the same farm. | 
Hundreds of modifications of varieties have thus been 
made. Darwin made some exceedingly interesting ex- 
periments in the cross-fertilization and self-fertilization 
of tlie tobacco plant, from which he drew the conclusion 
that cross-fertilization from plants grown from the same 
seed produces deterioration of variety, both in size and 
weight. 

On the other hand, when a plant is cross-fertilized 
with a totally different variety, grown under different 
conditions of climate and culture, and on different soils, 
the improvement was manifest, both in size and 
weight. This improvement was shown in several ways, 
"by earlier germination of the crossed seeds, by the' 
more rapid growth of the seedlings while quite young. 




PLATE IV. HAVANA SEKDLEAF (complete plant in flower). 

Grown in Connecticut valley, Massachusetts. Hlglit G feet 7 inches. 
Top leaves 20 to 26 inches long, 12 to 15 inches wide; middle leaves 
15 to 17 by 28 to 33 inches ; bottom leaves 11 to 15 by 20 to 25 inches. 
92 



VAEIETIES OF THE PLANT. S3 

by the earlier flowering of the crossed plants, as well as 
by the greater hight which they ultimately attain. 
The superiority of the crossed plants was shown still 
more plainly when the two lots were weighed, the weight 
of the crossed plants to that of the self-fertilized being 
as IGO to 37. Better evidence," he concludes, "could 
hardly be desired, of the immense advantage derived 
from a cross with a fresh stock," But Darv/in neglected 
the most important point, and that is, the relative value 
of the cured products. Strong vitality in the tobacco 
plant does not ensure a high quality of products. 

While this tendency of the varieties to mix is accom- 
panied with trouble in preserving the purity of the seeds 
of desirable varieties, it also offers opportunities for im- 
proving old, or of creating new, varieties. The plant 
may be bred for qualities desired for specific purposes. 
Ill the dismcts growing wrappers, width and fineness of 
the leaf may be increased by cross-fertilization. Where 
the product is thick and heavy, but not large, the cross- 
fertilization with a plant of larger leaf may result in a 
decided improvement. This should be one of the duties 
of those having charge of agricultural experiment 
stations. 

In the investigation of the culture and curing of 
tobacco, by the census of 1880, more than one hundred 
names of varieties were mentioned in the schedules re- 
turned. Probably half of these were synonyms. In the 
list below are given the names, uses, places where grown, 
and peculiarities of growth of such varieties as com- 
meiided themselves to growers. A few new varieties 
have been introduced since 1880, of which the names, 
uses and qualities are given at the close of the chajiter. 

New "varieties" are frequently brought to notice, 

but in most cases prove, upon investigation, to be merely 

variations of established kinds. Indeed, it is difficult 

to mark the line between distinct and indistinct varie- 

3 



34 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ties. We by no means contend that absolute perfection 
has yet been attained in any of our varieties of tobacco, 
and feel confident that the great development of tobacco 
culture wliich is coming in America, will be character- 
ized by marked improvements in the desirable features 
of the different classes of leaf. 

PRINCIPAL VARIETIES OF TOBACCO GROWN IN 
THE UNITED STATES. 

Adcock. — Wide simce between leaves ; ripens uni- 
formly from top to bottom ; used for yellow wrappers 
and fillers for plug; excellent fine smokers; grown in 
North Carolina. 

Baden". — Short leaves, light, inclined to be chaffy ; 
cures a fine yellow, but liable to green spots ; used for 
plug wrappers and fillers, smokers ; grown in Maryland. 

Baltimore Cuba. — Long leaf, good body, fine, 
silky texture, tough ; yields well ; sweats a uniform color ; 
disseminated by the United States agricultural depart- 
ment ; used for cigar wrappers and fillers ; grown in 
Ohio (Miami valley). 

Bay. — Large, heavy leaf, red spangled and yellow 
when cured ; used for manufacturing and shipping ; 
grown in Maryland. 

Beat-All (same as Williams). — Large, spreading 
leaf, fine fiber, dark, rich and gummy ; export to Great 
Britain and Germany ; well cured, makes fine Swiss 
wrappers. Tennessee, Virginia. 

Belknap. — Sub-variety of Connecticut scedleaf ; 
same as Connecticut seedleaf. Connecticut, Massachu- 
setts, New York. 

BuLLFACE. — Sub- variety of the Pryor ; large, heavy 
leaf, oval shaped, tough, small stems and fibers ; a lux- 
uriant grower; heavy shii)ping, makes good wrappers 
for cheap plug. Virginia, North Carolina, Tennessee. 



VARIETIES OF THE PLANT. 35 

Bullock. — Broad, smooth leaf, with no ruffle on 
stem ; yellow wrappers and plug fillers. North Carolina. 

BuRLEY, White. — Long, broad leaf, white in ap- 
pearance while growing ; grows flat, with points of 
leaves hanging down, and often touches the ground ; 
fancy wrappers, plug fillers, and for cutting purposes. 
Ohio, Kentucky, Virginia, Maryland, Missouri, Indiana. 
Plates VII, VIII. There is another variety of the White 
Burley with narrow leaf, twisted bud, not so tender, and 
the ends of the leaves do not touch the ground. 
Plate IX. 

Clardy. — Large, smooth, heavy leaf, extremely 
broad ; stalks long ; common plug, exported for Swiss 
wrappers and consumption in the Eegie countries. 
Kentucky, Tennessee. 

Connecticut Seedleaf. — Broad leaf, strong, thin, 
elastic, silky, small fibers, sweetish taste, light in 
color; cigar wrappers, lower grades for binders and 
fillers. Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Hampshire, 
New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Wisconsin, Minnesota, 
also in Indiana, Illinois and Florida. 

Connecticut Broadleaf (East Hartford Broad- 
leaf). — Modification of above ; leaves broader in propor- 
tion to length ; fibers more at right angles to midrib ; 
same as above. Connecticut, New York, Wisconsin. 
Plates I, II. 

Cuba. — Small leaf, grown from imported seed; re- 
tains much of the aroma of Cuba-grown tobacco ; cigar 
wrappers, fillers and binders. Pennsylvania, New York, 
Wisconsin, Florida and Louisiana. 

Cunningham. — Short, broad leaf, thick and stalky 
growth ; fillers and smokers. North Carolina. 

Duck Island. — Broad leaf, fine appearance, full 
grower ; originated from Havana seed ; cigar work. 
New York, Pennsylvania. 




PLATE V. Plant Topped. platk vi. Plant in Flower. 

SUMATRA SEEDl.EAF. 

From a photograph taken in August, 1896, of a field in Columbia county, 
northern Florida. Hight of plant. 6 to 8 feet when topped, or 8 to 
10 feet when in flower. Length of longest leaf, when eured,18to 
20 inches; length of shortest leaf, 7 to 8 inches; average length, 14 
inches. Width of longest leaf, 10 to 12 inches in the middle; width 
of shortest leaf, 5 to 6 inches; average width, 8 inches. Greatest 
number of leaves on best plant, 40; lowest, 20; average, 30. 



VARIETIES OF THE PLANT. 3'? 

Planagak. — Similar to Little Orinoco, but 
broader leaf, finer fiber, silky and tough ; fancy wrap- 
pers, plug fillers. Virginia. 

Florida. — Fine texture, silky, thick and elastic ; 
becomes spotted when grown upon certain soils, with 
white specks when ripening; cigar wrappers, binders 
and fillers. 

Frederick. — Akin to White Stem ; rough leaf, 
heavy and rich, stands up well ; mainly for export to 
Europe. Virginia and Tennessee. 

Glessner. — Large, handsome leaf, fine texture., 
soft and elastic ; cigar wrappers and fillers, smokers. 
Pennsylvania, New York, Wisconsin. 

GoocH. — Broad, round leaf; leaves thick on stalk; 
yellows on hill when ripe ; cures easily ; fancy, bright 
export, and domestic wrappers and smokers. Virginia, 
North Carolina. A favorite variety in North and South 
Carolina. 

Gourd Leaf. — Broad, short, fine and silky leaf, 
yellows on hill ; plug wrappers and fillers, smokers. 
Virginia. 

Governor Jo^^es. — Long, narrow leaf, of good 
body ; plug wrappers and fillers, and for common smok- 
ing. Kentucky. 

Havana Seed. — Very thin, fine leaf, fine texture, 
delicate flavor; cigar wrappers. Connecticut, Massa- 
chusetts, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio. Plates III, IV. 

Hester. — Broad-shouldered, heart-shaped leaf, fine 
fiber, silky, cures very bright ; plug wrappers, fillers 
and smokers. A great favorite in North and South 
Carolina for yellow tobacco. 

Hickory Leaf. — Fine fiber and texture, cures up 
very bright; plug work, smokers and shipping. West 
Virginia. 



38 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Johnson" Green. — Said to be a cross of Orinoco 
and White Stem ; large, heavy leaf, strong flavor ; strips 
and shipping leaf. Virginia. 

Kite-Foot. — Eather short, wide leaf, thin, apt to 
cure a greenish color unless fully ripe ; for very common 
cigars ; culture decreasing. Indiana. 

Lacks. — Heavy weight on strong soils ; used for 
making yellow tobacco in Virginia, and heavy tobacco 
in Kentucky ; well colored, broad leaf, fine fiber ; a 
strong grower. Kentucky, Virginia. Plate XIV. 

Little Dutch, — Very narrow leaf, small, thick 
and short, in flavor resembling Yara tobacco ; for bind- 
ers and fillers for cigars ; once very popular in the 
Miami valley of Ohio, but now discarded, along with 
seedleaf, and Zimmer's Spanish is mainly grown. 

Long Green. — Coarse and heavy, vigorous grower ; 
heavy shipping leaf. Virginia. 

Lancaster Broadleaf. — Upright grower, deli- 
cate, silky fiber ; cigar wrappers, binders and fillers, 
smokers. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin. 

Lovelady. — Long, dark, narrow leaf, very heavy; 
export, grown for African shippers. Virginia, Tennes- 
see, Indiana. 

Mann. — Leaf of good body, heavy and gummy; 
plug wrappers and fillers, export. North Carolina. 

Orinoco, Short. — Broad leaf, upright growth and 
open habit, light colored, much ruffled ; plug wrappers 
and fillers, for strips and for export leaves. Virginia, 
Missouri. 

Orinoco, Big. — Short, broad leaf, doubtless orig- 
inally same as last named ; sweet plug wrappers and 
fillers, exj)ort. Virginia, Missouri, North Carolina, 
Tennessee, West Virginia. 

Orinoco, Yellow. — Long, narrow, tapering leaf, 
fine texture, stands up well ; principally for plug work 



VARIETIES OF THE PLANT. 39 

and smokers ; sweetest variety grown. Virginia, Mary- 
land, North Carolina, Tennessee, West Virginia, Mis- 
souri. 

PEiirNSTLVANiA Seedleaf. — Coarser and darker 
than Connecticut seedleaf ; used for some purposes and 
grown in same States. 

Perique. — Medium-sized leaf, fine fiber, small stem, 
tougli, gummy and glossy ; smoking, chewing, cigars 
and cigarettes, for mixing with other kinds. Louisiana. 

Pittsylvania, Yellow. — Medium size, leaves 
elongated, good distance apart, fine texture, small, tough 
stems; fine wrappers and fillers, good export variety. 
West Virginia. 

Pryor, Blue. — Large, fine leaf, long, and well 
proportioned, good color, slightly ruffled ; cigar and 
plug fillers ; stemmers for export. Virginia, North Car- 
olina, Kentucky, Tennessee, Missouri, Indiana. 

Pryor, Silky. — Long, sharp-pointed leaf, grows 
thin on the stalk, with a leaf very tough and pliant 
when cured ; plug wrappers and fillers. North Carolina 
and Virginia. See Plates XII and XIII. 

Pryor, Yellow. — Heavy, wide leaf, fine texture, 
fine, bright color, tough, weighs well ; cigar and plug 
wrappers and fillers ; stemmers for export. Same as 
last. 

Pryor, White (or Medley Pryor). — Very broad 
leaf, soft and silky texture and tough fiber ; a beautiful 
grower ; plug wrappers and fillers. Virginia. 

Shoestring. — Heavy leaf, rather narrow, long and 
large stem ; dark navy plug ; good shipping leaf. Ten- 
nessee, Kentucky, Missouri, A^irginia. 

Sleek Stem. — Large, long leaf, heavy weigher, no 
ruffles ; heavy, dark fillers, shipping loaf. Tennessee. 

Spanish Seed. — Uniform, dark color, medium 
size leaf, ripens ten days earlier than other varieties ; 




PLATE VII. WHITE BUKLEY TOBACCO (topped plant). 

Ready for cutting, slightly wilted. Hight, 4 feet 4 inches. Fifteen 
leaves on plant; top leaves, 28 inches long; center leaves, 38 inches 
long; bottom leaves, 3G inches. Grown in Greene county, east 
Tennessee. 



40 



VARIETIES OF THE PLANT. 41 

highly prized for dark rdgur \vra|)})ers. New York, Illi- 
nois, Wisconsin. 

Sumatra Seed. — Newest of all varieties of cigar 
leaf. Grown in Florida, from seed imported from Su- 
matra. Leaf light in weight and color; not lonr, com- 
pared to other seedleaf, and much narrower, with fine 
ribs. Promises to be very popular with cigar manufac- 
turers. Sec article on Tobacco in Florida, also Plates 
V and YI. 

Thickset. — Leaf long, pointed, narrow, coarse 
fiber ; very short stalk, coarse and heavy ; common plug 
work and shipping. Kentucky, Missouri, Maryland, 
West Virginia, Tennessee, eastei'n Ohio. 

Twist Bud. — Heavy, large leaf, screw-sliaped, ter- 
minal stem ; export mainly, also plug fillei's. Kentucky, 
Missouri, Maryland. 

Vallandigham. — Large, pointed, smooth loaf; 
cigar wrappers and fillers, smokers. Wisconsin. 

Wand. — Another name for Lacks, which see. 

White Stem Orinoco. — Leaf hmg, slender, droop- 
ing, tough and fibrous, largest leaf grown ; vellow ])lug 
wrappers, strips and shipping leaf. Virginia and North 
Carolina. 

Williams. — Same as Beat-All. Grown in Tennes- 
see for twenty-five years as Williams; British and Ger- 
man export. Tennessee. 

Wilson's Hybrid. — Said to be an improved Ha- 
vana. Erect habit, easy of cultivation; cigar wrappers, 
binders and fillers. Grown very generally in Now York. 
"Little Spanish," and "Corn-Cross Havana," are varie- 
ties of this type that have a local popularity. 

Yellow Mammoth. — Very large leaf ; lapid grower, 
yields largely ; stemmed for export, and used for Swiss 
wrappers. Tennessee. Plates X and XL 



42 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Zimmer's Spanish. — Much like Wilson's Hybrid 
Havana. Generally grown in the Miami valley, in Ohio, 
and also in AVisconsin. 

NEW VARIETIES. 

Since 1880, the following new varieties for the grow- 
ing of yellow and mahogany manufacturing leaf have 
been originated by cross-fertilization. 

Eaqlakd's Conqueror. — Grown in Virginia, North 
Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee. This 
is now a standard variety. 

Bonanza. — A White Burley cross on the Yellow 
Orinoco, said to possess the qualities of both parents ; 
beautifully blended, and very popular with manufactur- 
ers, being tougher than the AVhite Burley, and more 
porous than the Orinoco ; very hardy. 

Safrano. — A cross of the Hyco on White Burley. 
The color resembles the saffron rose, it being a rich saf- 
fron color ; it has a soft, silky texture, and delightful 
flavor. 

Gold Finder. — Another cross of the Yellow Ori- 
noco and the White Burley. It is almost as white as 
the White Burley, and has the shape and habits of 
growth of the Orinoco. 

Bullion. — A White Burley cross on the Hester; a 
broad leafed, stately plant, well formed and fine fibered. 
It resembles the Hester in habit, but the leaves are 
larger and grow farther apart on the stalk. It has a 
fine texture and great absorptive capacity. 

Climax. — A cross of the White Burley on the Ster- 
ling. This has not been much tried, but it is thought 
to be an acquisition to the bright list. 

Ragland's Improved Yellow Orinoco has been 
more extensively planted in recent years for the yellow 
type than any other variety. In its habit of growth it 
does not differ very much from the Yellow Orinoco. 



VAKlETIES OF THE PLANT. 43 

Honduras. — Used in the yellow-tobacco districts 
for growing the bright mahogany. It is a vigorous 
grower and very healthy. 

Several old varieties, as the Yellow Pryor, the Hes- 
ter, the Gooch, and the original White Burley, are said 
to have been improved by careful culture and cross-fer- 
tilization, by the late E. L. Ragland, of Virginia, for a 
long time the best known and one of the most successful 
tobacco growers in the yellow belt. 

Among the new varieties of merit for dark, rich ex- 
port tobacco recently originated, may be mentioned the 
Kentucky Yellow, one of the largest varieties known, 
combining weight with fine texture. 

Every one of the varieties mentioned in this list has 
its excellences and its advocates. Two farmers, living 
side by side, iTpon the same soils, will often differ in 
their preferences, and will grow continuously for many 
years different varieties from each other. Each variety 
has some good points, and is deficient in others, and 
from this cause the great difference in opinion as to 
merits arises. 

In the South, the favorite selections among a ma- 
jority of planters, for the purposes indicated, are the 
following: For yellow tobacco: Gooch, Broadleaf 
Orinoco, or White Stem Orinoco, as it is sometimes 
called. Yellow Orinoco, Hester, Bradley, Tilly, Ster- 
ling, Yellow Pryor, Lacks, Primus, Tuckahoe. For 
manufacturin(} purposes, flue, sun and air cured : Bo- 
nanza, Flanagan, Little Orinoco, Sterling, Hyco, Hes- 
ter, Sweet Orinoco and Bradley on siliceous loams, and 
White Burley on strong limestone soils. For mild chetu- 
ing tohacco mid smohers : Sweet Orinoco on siliceous 
soils, and White Burley on limestone lands. For heavy 
sJdpping leaf: Blue Pryor, Medley Pryor, Beat-All, 
Yellow Mammoth, and Kentucky Yellow ; the Shoe- 
string is largely grown for shipping abroad, though very 




PLATE VIII. WHITE BURLEY TOBACCO (complete or Seed plant). 

From same fann as I'late VII. Hight, 6 feet. Top leaves, 22 inches 
long ; center leaves, 30 inches long. 



VARIETIES OF THE PLANT. 45 

narrow. For heavy stemming: Lacks, Yellow Mam- 
moth, Beat-All, Orinoco Broadleaf, Blue Pryor, Mor- 
row and Kentucky Yellow. For mahogany wrappers, 
cutters, fillers and bright smokers, the same varieties 
are grown as for yellow tobacco, though some growers 
believe that a greater pi-oportion of good wrappei's is 
made from some of the new varieties bred by Mr. Rag- 
hmd. Among those most heartily commended are : 
Conqueror, Ragland's Improved Yellow Orinoco, Bullion 
and the L(mg Leaf Gooch. It should always be remem- 
bered that varieties grown, even for specific purposes, 
will do better on some soils than on others. And every 
planter ought to test several varieties on his farm, in 
order to ascertain Just which will give the best results, 
quality, quantity and demand considered. 



CHAPTER lY. 

CLASSIFICATION OF THE TOBACCO GROWN IN THE 
UNITED STATES, AND THE MARKETS FOR IT. 

The cured product only of the tobacco plant is of 
marketable value. Each distinct soil formation, aided 
by climatic conditions, gives peculiar qualities to the 
cured leaf, as to texture, flavor, color and special fitness 
for varied uses and for different markets. The abili1;gr 
to cultivate the plant, or to cure the product, so as to 
give it such qualities as to make it desirable, is of the 
utmost importance to the grower, and upon his skill in 
this depend his profits. 

In its green state there are many varieties of tobacco 
in wliich peculiarities of growth, size, or time of matur- 
ing, are the distinguishing features. Commercial cir- 
cles recognize in the cured product classes, types and 
grades. The basis of a class is its adaptation for a cer- 
tain use ; the basis of a ty^ie is the combination of cer- 
tain qualities, or properties, in the leaf, as color, 
strength, elasticity, body, flavor, etc., or in the meth- 
ods employed in curing, as sun-cured, air-cured, flue- 
cured, or cured by open fires. Grades represent the 
different degrees of excellence in a type, as lugs, low- 
leaf, medium, good, fillers, binders and wrajipers. 

To illustrate more fully : The heavy shipi^ing to- 
bacco is a class adapted to the requirements of the con- 
sumers in foreign markets. The yellow tobacco is a type 
that may be used for exportation, for smoking and for 
chewing, thus belonging to several classes. There may 
be eight or ten grades of yellow tobacco, each differing 

46 



CLASSIFICATION AND MAKKETS. 47 

from the other in points of excellence, but all belonging 
to the same type. 

A district may produce only one type, which may 
be referred to several classes ; that is, it may be suitable 
for exportation, for chewing, smoking, or the making 
of snuff. 

A district may produce many types of the same 
class, as in New England, where several types of seed- 
leaf and Havana seed are grown, yet all belong to the 
class of cigar tobacco and are used solely for that pur- 
pose. A district may also produce only one class of one 
type. 

The classification first made in the census rejiorts of 
1880 has given the greatest satisfaction to the tobacco 
trade, and it is appended below, with a few changes ren- 
dered necessary by changes in demand. It must be 
observed, however, that many of these classes are 
interchangeable. 

CLASS I. • 

CHEWING TOBACCO. 

(a) Tobacco for fine cut and plug fillers. 

Fine cut Burley. 

Fine cut Mason county. 

White Burley flUers. 

Red Burley fillers (plug work). 

Virginia sun and air cured fillers. 

Virginia Hue-cured fillers. 

North Carolina Jlue-oured red fillers. 

Carolina and east Tennessee Hue-cured yellow flUors. 

Missouri air-cured fillers. 

Fire-cured fillers. 

Tennessee and Kentucky air-cured fillers. 

Green River fillers. 

(b) Tobacco iised for ping wrappers. 

Virginia yellow and mahogany. 
North Carolina yellow and mahogany. 
South Carolina " " " 

East Tennessee " " " 

West Virginia " " " 

Clarksville and Missouri dark and red. 
Kentucky and Ohio Burley. 




PLATE IX. WHITE BURLEY (topped). 

Wilted wlien photographed, l)nt the peculiar appearance of the nar- 
row-leafed or twist-bud sub-variety is well represented. Grown at 
Kentucky exjieriment station, Fayette county, on soil not espe- 
cially adapted to tobacco. The crop on this exhauste<l soil, when 
fertilized with potash, is as large as on typical tobacco land. 
Higlit of this plant, 35 inches; average top leaf, 21 inches long, 8 
inches wide; middle leaves, 32x11 iiiches; lower leaves, smaller 
and variable. This sub-variety holds its leaves straight up, while 
in the "White Burley, shown in Plates VII and VIII, the leaves hang 
down, often touching tlie ground when ripe. 

48 



CLASSIFICATION AND MARKETS. 49 

CLASS IL 

TOBACCO FOR EXPORTATIOK. 

(a) English shippers. 

Bird's-Eye cutting leaf. 

Brown roll wrapper. 

Spinning leaf. 

Heavy cutter. 

Plug wrapper. 

Plug fillers. 

Navy leaf. 

Irish filler. 

Scotch Elder. 

Scotch and Irish spinners. 

A large portion of English shippers are sent abroad 
deprived of the stem or midrib, and are called strips. 

(d) Continental shippers. 

French Regie, A's, B's and C's. 

Italian, " " " " 

Austrian, " " " " 

Spanish, " " " " 

Germany: German Saucer, German Spinner, Spangled tobacco 

from Ohio, Maryland and West Virginia, and fat lugs for smokers. 
Switzerland: Swiss wrappers and Swiss fillers. 
Holland or the Netherlands : Dutch Sauo«Pv 
Belgium : Belgian cutler. 
Denmark, Norway and Sweden: Heavy Kentucky and Tennessee 

types. 

(c) African shippers. 
Liverpool African. 
Boston " 
Gambia " 

(d) Mexico, South America and West Indies. 

Baling wrapper. 
Baling filler. 

CLASS III. 

PRODUCT SUITABLE FOR THE MAKING OF DOMESTIC CIGARS, 
OR FOR THE MANUFACTURE OF SMOKING TOBACCO. 

Seedleaf and Havana seed grown in New England, Pennsylvania, 

New York, Ohio, Wisconsin, Illinois and Florida. 
White Burley lugs. 
American-grown Havana. 
Perique. 

Lugs from the yellow and heavy tobacco growing districts. 
Indiana and Kentucky cheroot and stogy wrappers. 

4 



50 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Finc-flbored Clarksville wrappers. 
Indiana Kite-Foot. 
Little Dutch, of Ohio. 

Going into a more minute description of the various 
members of tlie different classes, we begin with — 

CLASS I. 

CHEWING TOBACCO. 

Fine Cut and Ping Fillers. — AVhito Burley is the 
product of a new variety wliieh originated in Brown 
county, Ohio, in 18G4, as has been already described. 
Tliere are two sub-tyi)es now produced from the White 
Burley : 

1. A thin, chaffy leaf, almost destitute of gum 
and oils. This is used for manufacturing tine-cut 
tobacco. 

2. A heavier leaf, with more body and more gum, 
used for i)lug fillers, and generally called, in the com- 
mercial world, Eed Burley. This sub-type is soft, elas- 
tic, spongy, with a large capacity for absorbing the sauces 
with which it is treated in the process of manufacture. 
It has about three per cent of nicotine, which is about 
half the quantity contained in the heavy-shipping to- 
bacco. It will absorb, without dripping, two and a half 
times its weight of water. It is not naturally so sweet 
as the Hue and sun cured tobacco of Virginia, or the 
air-cured product of Missouri. Tlie fine-cut Mason 
county tobacco has less gum than any other tobacco 
grown in the Burley district. 

The Red Burley fillers are not so bright in color as 
the White Burley cutting letif, but they have a charac- 
teristic cinnamon color. 

The Virginia sun and air cured fillers, which are 
chiefly grown in the counties of Caroline, Hanover, 
Louisa, Spottsylvania and Fluvanna, in Virginia, consist 
of a leaf of medium size, light brown in color, very 
sweet and fragrant, with a fair proportion of gum and 



CLASSIFICATION AND MARKETS. 51 

oils. This sun and air cured tobacco is very popular 
for chewing, on account of its peculiar richness of flavor 
and pleasantness of taste. It contains about 3.27 per 
cent of nicotine, and will absorb, without drij)ping, 
about twice its weight in water. 

The most popular and the highest priced brands of 
tobacco are manufactured from the flue-cured Virginia 
fillers grown, for the most part, in Henry and Patrick 
counties, Virginia, but mainly in Henry county. This 
product is of medium size, brown or mahogany in color, 
fine in texture, delicate in fiber, oily and elastic. It is 
usually made from the variety known as the Little Ori- 
noco, which is peculiar in the irregularity of its veins, or 
smaller fibers, and the frequent bifurcations of these 
fibers. 

The best North Carolina Red fillers, resembling 
somewhat those grown in Henry county, Va., come from 
Rockingham, Guilford, Forsyth, Surry, and to a 
smaller extent from several other counties in the west- 
em section. They are flue-cured, of a cherry red in 
color, with whitish fibers. They are sweet, tough and 
leathery, but of small leaf and delicate fibers. They are 
made from thoroughly ripened plants, and while not 
great absorbers of the sauces with which they are 
treated in the process of manufacture, yet they are 
highly poj)ular because of their peculiarly sweet, natural 
flavor. When the plants are cut before they are ripe, 
the product is subject to "gray veins," which are highly 
objectionable, inasmuch as such veins do not disappear, 
or blacken, when manufactured, and reveal the imma- 
turity of the product. 

The yellow fillers of Virginia, North Carolina, South 
Carolina, and of east Tennessee, though used, to some 
extent, in the manufacture of chewing tobacco, are yet 
wanting in the natural sweetness and toughness of 
leaf, which are so much to be desired in chewing tobacco. 




PLATK IXrt. WHITE P.UKLEV (lojiped). 

Tills is a picture of a plant, of tliis variety somewhat different from 
tlie plant shown in Plate IX, although belongini; to the narrow- 
leaf variety and finer type of the White Hurley. It is jirown on a 
field having a typical blue grass soil, in Fayette county, Kentucky, 
well suited to the growth of White Burley. This plant was 3J feet 
liigh;toi> leaf, 38 Inches long aud 8 inches wide; middle leaves, 
31x9 Inches. 



52 



CLASSIFICATIOISr AND MARKETS. 53 

The Missouri air-cured fillers make what is called a 
"toiigli, sweet cliew," that is pleasant to the taste, but 
the texture of the leaf is not so delicate or silky as that 
of the Henry county flue-cured tobacco, nor does it com- 
mand such high ])rices in the market. 

A chewing tobacco with a large percentage of nico- 
tine, much used by miners, sailors, lumbermen, farm 
hiborers, and others employed in outdoor work, is made 
of the strong, new-land tobacco grown in the heavy- 
shipping districts, and even, to some extent, of that 
grown on heavily manured plots. This product rises 
sometimes as high as six per cent in nicotine, and is 
totally unfit for use by delicate persons, or those having 
weak nerves. Owing to the large amount of gummy 
substances stored away in its vascular tissue, it rarely 
has the capacity of absorbing, without dripping, more 
than an equF-l weight of water. 

The air-cured fillers of Tennessee and Kentucky, 
other than the Burley, are of light to medium weight, 
not coarse in texture or fiber, but far from being as del- 
icate as the flue-cured products of A^irginia. Tliis prod- 
uct is not gummy or waxy, but it has a mild, sweet 
flavor, free from acridity or bitterness, porous in struc- 
ture, and generally of a bright, pale-red color. It 
possesses a liigh absorptive capacity. It is distinguished 
from the Burley fillers by having more body, with less 
delicacy of fiber, and by being darker in color. 

Plug Wrappers. — Equally as essential for making 
plug tobacco, are plug wrappers. The yellow and ma- 
hogany types of Virginia, North and South Carolina, 
east Tennessee and portions of Kentucky, may be con- 
sidered grades of the yellow type. The highest grade of 
yellow wrappefs is small in size, lemon-yellow in color, 
soft and silky to the feel, with yellow or white fibers. 
It sparkles with minute, golden colored granules, appar- 
ently sprinkled on the upper surface of the leaf, that 



54 TOBACCO LEAF. 

give a splendor to its appearance, especially in the sun- 
light. Other grades, less perfect in the yellow color, fol- 
low this, by almost imj)ercei)tible gradations, to tlie ma- 
hogany or mottled yellow and brown. The lemon 
colored leaf stands at the head as a wrapper for ping, 
especially if it will withstand heavy pressure without 
blackening. The mahogany and red wrappers are gen- 
erally larger than the yellow wrappers. They usually 
contain a large proportion of oily substances in their 
composition, and will blacken the more readily under a 
heavy pressure. The absorptive capacity of the yellow 
wrapper is over two and a half times its Aveight. The 
dark and red wrappers of the Clarksville (Tennessee) 
district, as well as those of Missouri, have a strong and 
elastic texture, heavy in body, soft, smooth and flexible 
in structure, of fine stem and fiber, varying in color from 
a light brown to that of port wine. The leaf must be 
free from worm cut or field fire, of good width, and of 
well rounded proportions. These wrappers are in de- 
mand for the Canada trade, and sometimes by the man- 
ufacturers of stogy cigars. 

The Burley wrappers grown in Mason county, Ken- 
tucky, are distinguished for their fineness, softness, 
strength and elasticity. In color, they run from a red ; 
dish-yellow to a dark brown. The best grades of the 
White Burley product of Mason county make excellent 
wrappers for plug work. 

CLASS II. 

EXPORT TOBACCO. 

English Shippers. — Great Britain furnishes the best 
foreign market for American tobacco. The United King- 
dom, composed of England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales, 
took the following quantities of American tobacco for 
the years named : For 1891, 02,945,023 pounds ; 1892, 
54,594,449 pounds; 1893, 09,493,038 pounds; 1894, 



CLASSIFICATION AND MARKETS. 55 

83,273,149 pounds; 1895, 89,945,565 pounds. Both 
leaf and strips are taken, and a variable quantity is re- 
exported. Among the requirements are about 40,000 
hogsheads of Western tobacco, of which there are some 
28,000 hogsheads of Western strips, and 10,000 hogs- 
heads of dried leaf, and about 2,000 hogsheads of White 
Burley. From 8,000 to 10,000 hogsheads of Virginia 
and North Carolina leaf, and from 10,000 to 14,000 
hogsheads of Virginia, North Carolina and East Ten- 
nessee strips are also included in the demand for the 
trade and consumption in the United Kingdom. Within 
recent years the consumption of leaf tobacco has in- 
creased in the English markets, under an arrangement 
with the revenue department by wliich the manufac- 
turer is allowed to return the stems into the hands of the 
proper officer, for destruction or exportation. In some 
forms of manufacture, the stem is compressed in the leaf 
into a thin plate, and then split, so as to divide the leaf 
into two parts. 

The Bird's-Eye cutter is the only type used exclu- 
sively in the leaf in English consumption. It consists 
of a very bright, smooth, thin and clean leaf, with as 
little gum and oil as possible. The color of both the 
upper and under sides of the leaf must be of uniform 
and similar shades of bright color, and the stem must be 
of a brightish brown color on the outside, and white on 
the inside, or upper side, of the leaf. Each section into 
which the stem is cut presents an appearance on the cut 
surface of the eye of a bird, and hence its name. This 
type, formerly grown only in the lower Green River dis- 
trict of Kentucky, and in the Clarksville district, is now 
largely grown in the Burley districts, and in Virginia 
and North Carolina. 

Fine Roll wrapper is a bright red or full bright leaf, 
of good breadth, thin and smooth in texture, almost 
destitute of oil, resembling the leaf used by our domes- 




PLATE X. HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO (topped ready for harvesting). 

Name of variety, Yellow Mammoth. Hight, 30 inches; bottom leaves, 
30 inches long and 19 inches wide; middle leaves, 34x20 inches; top 
leaves, 35x22 inches wide. The lower leaf is 10 inches from Ihe 
ground; the tipper, 30 inclies from the ground. Distance between 
each leaf on the stalk, 2 2-9 inches. Grown in Robertson county, 
northern Tennessee. 

56 



CLASSIFICATION" AND MARKETS. 57 

tic manufacturers for making fine cut. It is used in 
England as a wrapper for spinning brown roll. The 
wrapper is filled with suitable fillers, and the whole spun 
into a strand about one inch in diameter. This is coiled 
like a rope, from which sections are cut for retail. The 
filler for the brown roll is of the same type as the wrap- 
l)er, but of a lower grade. The midrib for this roll is 
always removed. 

Spinning leaf, or strips, is a type consisting of a 
long, rich and oily leaf, of full brown color, good weight 
and body, strong and elastic in texture, and of general 
smoothness. Brighter colors are growing in demand for 
spinning leaf. Formerly the "fatty" types of the 
Clarksville district were in demand for this purpose, but 
the requirements of the German market depreciated 
their value so much that less oily types are now substi- 
tuted. The strand into which this is spun is of a 
smaller size than that of the brown roll. A still smaller 
strand is spun, called Lady's Twist, which is consumed 
jirincipally in Scotland, Ireland and in the north of 
England. The wrapper for the latter consists of a smaller 
a:;d shorter leaf, but of the same general quality as that 
ucod for the larger strand. 

There is a coarsely cut manufactured product, known 
as Shag, much used in England. The supply of to- 
bacco for this is drawn mainly from southern Indiana 
and the Green River district of Kentucky. This tobacco 
has but little gum, but more than has the leaf used in the 
United States for making fine cut. It is called a heavy 
cutter. Substitutes for it came from Japan, Java, Para- 
guay and the Dutch possessions. 

Plug wrappers for the English market consist of 
rich brown leaves, smooth in structure, medium in size, 
and strong and elastic in texture. Plug wrappers are in 
limited demand in the United Kingdom because the 
consumption of plug tobacco is very small. Plug fillers 



58 TOBACCO LEAF. 

used in England are the short, common and imperfect 
leaves of the same general character as the wrappers. 

The Navy plug, for use in the English navy, was 
made of the best of Green Eiver redried fillers, until the 
substitution, in a large part, of the White Burley fillers. 
These now compose the largest portion of the material 
used in the manufacture of Navy plug in quarters, half 
pounds and pounds. A short, fully ripened, clean and 
oily leaf is used in Ireland for fillers. The Bird's- Eye 
and Irish fillers are sold in the English market in the 
leaf for the special consumption to which they are 
adapted. 

Scotch Elder is a type very popular in England and 
Scotland. It is a leaf of good size, and reddish in color. 
It has great absorptive or drinking capacity, very porous, 
containing a small content of gummy matter, with a 
medium texture as to fineness. The cause of its great 
popularity is that as much as fifty-five pounds of water 
may be added to one hundred pounds of tobacco before 
it is sold to consumers. As the tax on every pound of 
tobacco imported to England is about seventy-six cents, 
it will be seen that the greatest profits to the retailer 
come from the capacity of the tobacco to absorb and 
retain moisture. 

The Scotch and Irish spinners are almost identical 
in character with the English spinners. 

CONTINENTAL SHIPPERS — KEGIE TYPES. 

Frencli Regie Typef^. — The exports of American 
tobacco to France were, 35,363,885 pounds in 1891; 
39,773,013 pounds in 1892; 39,508,592 pounds in 1893; 
38,268,008 pounds in 1894; and 34,943,161 pounds in 
1895. This amount is usually made up of about 11,000 
hogsheads of Western tobacco, 1000 hogsheads of Vir- 
ginia, 4000 hogsheads of Maryland and a variable quan- 
tity of eastern Ohio tobacco, possibly 2000 hogsheads. 



CLASSIFICATION" AND MARKETS. 59 

Of tlie Western tobacco, about half is Bnrley, and the 
demand for that tyj^e is rapidly increasing. This is 
manifested in the changes made for tiie requirement of 
the French Eegie, for 1896, which called for 8,038,530 
pounds of Burley, as against 5,894,922 pounds in 1895; 
1,339,755 pounds of heavy Kentucky, as against 1,G07,70G 
pounds in 1895; 8,842,383 pounds of light Kentucky, 
as against 15,005,256 pounds in 1895; and 1,607,706 
pounds Virginia, as against 2,277,584 pounds in 1895. 
The demand for Burley was increased by about 2000 
hogsheads. The demand for Maryland tobacco was also 
increased, but no call was made for the tobacco of north- 
eastern Ohio. 

It will be seen that there is a considerable varia- 
tion in the character of the tobacco taken by the French 
Eegie. Usually the French demand may be reduced to 
two distinct lines of classification, as heavy and light, 
with considerable irregularity as to grade, and deficiency 
as to distinctiveness in type. Two things are usually 
insisted upon: The stem must be absolutely free from 
mold, and the leaf must be supple enough to open freely. 
There are types of both heavy and light, known as A's, 
B's and C's. Type A consists of a leaf from twenty- 
three to twenty-five inches long, of moderately smooth 
appearance, dark brown in color, and heavy or light, ac- 
cording to the classification. This type is supplied by 
White Burley, Maryland, Kentucky and Tennessee to- 
bacco. Type B is of the same quality as type A, except 
as to length, which may be from eighteen to twenty-two 
inches. Type C consists of good, sound, clear lugs, or 
common leaf of moderately heavy body, running from 
the Clarksville and western Kentucky type of medium 
weight and body, to the lower Green River product 
of medium weight of body. 

It is said that France puts up the best smoking to- 
bacco in Europe, and the product is made absolutely 







PLATE XI. HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 

Seed plant from same field as Pl.ite X. Hight, 5 feet 9 inches; bottom 
leaves, 30 inches long, 14 inches wide; middle, 30x14 inches; top, 
24x13 inches. 

60 



CLASSIFICATION" AND MARKETS. 61 

aniform, one year with another, by proper mixing of to- 
bacco in large bins containing from thirty to forty hogs- 
heads each. France also consumes from 15,000 to 
25,000 hogsheads of tobacco grown in Alsace-Lorraine 
and about 5000 hogsheads of Hungarian tobacco. 

Italian Regie. — The exports of the tobacco of the 
United States to Italy were: 32,436,011 pounds in 
1891; 30,096,355 pounds in 1892; 27,515,456 pounds 
in 1893; 24,484,406 pounds in 1894; and 24,626,836 
pounds in 1895. Italy usually takes from 15,000 to 
18,000 hogsheads of heavy tobacco annually, and 2000 
to 3000 hogsheads of Burley. The tobacco taken from 
Italy is also classified into A's, B's, and C's, 

Type A is a large, smooth, showy and silky leaf, 
twenty-five to twenty-six inches long, of delicate fiber 
and texture, and of a solid dark brown color. Moderate 
weight only is required in this type, and just oil and fat 
enough to make it elastic and strong. This type is used 
as wrappers in the manufacture of cigars. 

Type B varies between heavy and light tobacco, 
sometimes the one, and then the other, being called for 
in the contract. When the heavy is required, the type 
consists of leaf of heavy body, dark brown color, and of 
more general richness and weight than type A, and it 
must be from twenty-two to twenty-five inches long. 
This type is used partly in the manufacture of snuff. 
Type B, light, consists of leaf of second and third grades 
of the same length of the heavy type, of showy appear- 
ance, light brown, or red, in color, and of moderate 
weight of body. Type B, light, is used in the manufac- 
ture of cigars of milder flavor than those made of the 
heavier type, and it is also used largely for cutting into 
smoking tobacco. 

Type C consists of short, common leaf, eighteen to 
twenty inches in length, of moderate weight of body, and 
is used as fillers and binders in the manufacture of cigars. 



62 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Of these various types, A is chiefly selected from the 
lighter-bodied and smooth product of the Clarksville 
district and of the western Kentucky district; B, heavy, 
from the heavier bodied products of these districts; B, 
light, from the lower Green River district. The tobacco 
of southern Indiana and Illinois has sometimes been 
used for B light. Type C is the common leaf of the 
heavy-producing districts, and the heavier bodied prod- 
uct of the light-producing districts. Intermediate 
types are frequently allowed in the Regie contracts. A 
small quantity of White Burley tobacco is taken for 
trial. Italy uses a considerable amount of Hungarian- 
grown tobacco. 

Austria Regie takes only one type from the 
United States, and this is divided into A, B and C 
grades. Tliis is a wrapping leaf, very smooth and fine 
in fiber, of very solid, firm and glossy texture above 
medium heavy body, but not of the heaviest and most 
fleshy type, and of a perfectly uniform brown and piebald 
color. A very essential quality is toughness in the leaf 
and a capacity of stretch. It must be well cured by fire, 
but not injured in curing. The length of leaf is not an 
essential part of the fitness, but good length is pre- 
ferred. This type is used in Austria as wrappers for 
cigars, and is supplied partly from Virginia, but in the 
main from the Clarksville district. The lower grades of 
tobacco for the Austrian Regie are siippliod from Hun- 
gary. Austria is also taking a small quantity of White 
Burley tobacco experimentally. 

The Sjmnish Regie. — The Spanish contract is let 
for periods ranging from one to six years, and is filled 
by sound, common and medium lugs and low leaf of all 
types and districts, except tbe Burley and bright-tobacco- 
producing districts. It is also, in part, filled by the low^ 
and nondescript leaf of light type. Most of the tobacco 
for this contract is taken from the Western product. 



CLASSIFICATION AND MARKETS. 63 

only about 2000 hogsheads of Yirginia tobacco being 
found suitable in character and price. The order is 
generally made for one-third of leaf of low grade and 
two-thirds lugs. The tobacco is classified into A's, B's 
and C's. Most all of it is used for smoking, the better 
grades for wrappers, binders and fillers in the manufac- 
ture of cigars, and the lower grades are granulated and 
used for the manufacture of cigarettes and a moderate 
amount in snuff. The tobacco taken for Gibraltar is 
not embraced in the following statement: The quantity 
taken annually is from 15,000 to 18,000 hogsheads. 
There were 13,865,549 pounds of the tobacco of the 
United States exported to Spain in 1891; 22,862,875 
pounds in 1992; 12,611,810 pounds in 1893; 30,054,113 
pounds in 1894; and 26,262,432 pounds in 1895. 

German Types. — German Saucer is a sweet, fair- 
bodied leaf of fine fiber and stem, gummy, without fat- 
ness, and cither of a clear, cherry red in color, or mot- 
tled with yellow, technically called piebald. The sur- 
face is gumm}', the leaf of good length, with consider- 
able weight of body. It is prepared for consumption in 
Germany by treating it with sweet sauces of a peculiar 
flavor and character. The fiber must be yellow after 
being treated with tliese sauces, and the leaf black. It 
is supplied mainly from Virginia, though some excellent 
tobacco for this purpose is grown in the heavy-tobacco 
districts of Tennessee and Kentucky. 

German Spinner consists of a very heavy-bodied leaf, 
from twenty-four to twenty-six inches long, full in 
width, of fine stem and fiber, very oily and fat, so that 
it will come out of the process of fermentation supple 
and strong, tough and elastic in texture, and of a very 
deep dark-brown color. This type is used in Germany 
and the north of Europe for spinning into strand. It is 
supplied chiefly from tlie Clarksville district and in part 
from the Green Biver districts of Kentucky. It is this 




PLATE XII. BRIGHT YELLOW TOBACCO (Silky Pryor, topped plant). 

Pliotographed in same field and on same dale (Aug. 21) as Plate XIII. 
Higlit of plant, 3^ feet. Hottom leaf, 13x25 iiiclies ; middle leaf, 
16x28J inches; top leaf , 13x24 inches. Season: Rains up tu about 
July 15, excessive heat and dryness for next 22 days. 

64 



CLASSIFICATION AND MARKETS. 65 

type that has given the Chirksville tobacco its most dis- 
tinguishing characteristics. 

German Spinning fillers are of tlie same character of 
tobacco as the wrappers, differing only in grade, and 
consist of very fat, clean and heavy-bodied lugs, which 
are also supplied from the Clarksville and upper Green 
Kiver districts. 

Germany also takes most of the Spangled tobacco of 
West Virginia and Ohio, and also that of Maryland. 
This is a leaf of full breadth, moderate length, and 
small stem. It is deficient in oil, has a medium strength 
in texture, and in color is yellow, yellow sjiangled with 
red, red spangled with yellow, and fine red. It is cured 
with open fires, but has a mild, sweet flavor. The fine 
yellow and yellow spangled go to Bremen, where it is 
rehandled, and packed in lighter casks, and sent to 
Russia for consumption. A portion, however, is taken to 
Austria and England, the two latter named countries 
taking also the red spangled. England takes the fine 
red. Germany takes all grades for consumption or dis- 
tribution, mostly, however, dark tobacco. It now 
takes about 500 hogsheads of bright fillers. Very little 
of the French and Italian types are taken; and only 
scraps of these types which are used in the country for 
smoking tobacco. Germany is also a large market for 
Burley lugs, and for seedleaf for cigars. 

Next to the United Kingdom, Germany is the best 
customer for American tobacco. Tobacco is sold in an 
open market, and is not a government monopoly. 
There were 48,055,408 pounds sent to tliat country 
from the United States in 181)1; 53,116,734 pounds in 
1892; 61,235,195 pounds in 1893; 51,632,897 pounds 
in 1894; and 54,184,621 pounds in 1895. 

Russia takes some Maryland tobacco directly from 
this country, but nothing else of consequence. South- 
ern Russia is supplied from Greece, Turkey and North 
5 



66 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Africa. Sweden and Norway take direct from the 
United States, from 1,629,755 pounds in 1892, to 
351,495 pounds in 1895. Portugal takes a very variable 
quantity, running from 2,657,256 jjounds in 1893, to 
only 5091 pounds in 1895. The demand for Gibraltar 
was, for 1893, 1,470,916 pounds; for 1894, 2,301,883 
pounds; for 1895, 1,896,332 pounds. Much of this is 
re-exported to Africa. The Azores and Madeira Islands 
take annually from 3000 pounds to 320,000 pounds of 
the tobacco of the United States. 

Snuff Lugs and Smokers. — The very fat, heavy and 
oily lugs of the Clarksville and other heavy-producing 
districts are consumed largely in the United States and 
Germany in the manufacture of common snuff, and for 
baling and spinning fillers, as noted elsewhere. They 
are also used on the Continent for the manufacture of 
common cigars. 

Switzerland takes from the United States only one 
type, known as Swiss wrapper. This is a broadleaf, 
twenty-six to thirty inches in length, silky, of fine fiber 
and stem, and of a dark brown or chestnut color. The 
spaces between the lateral fibers should be wide, and a 
combination of thin web and strong fiber is desired, so 
that the largest number of wrappers may be obtained 
from a given quantity. It is used in Switzerland as a 
cigar wrapper, and is supplied principally from the 
Clarksville district, but to a small extent from other 
heavy-producing districts. It must be cured by fire. 
The quantity of tobacco grown in the United States, 
taken directly to Switzerland, is very small, pcrhajis 
from five hundred to seven hundred hogsheads annually. 

The Netherlands take one distinct type from the 
United States, known as Dutch Saucer, which is similar 
in all respects to the German Saucer, except that it is 
thinner and more silky in texture. The other types 
taken are very much like those required for Germany, 



CLASSIFICATION AND MARKETS. 67 

including Bnrley lugs. The quantity of tobacco of the 
growth of the United States required for exportation to 
the Netherlaads was, 18,791,146 pounds in 1891; 
17,188,641 pounds in 1892; 18,168,278 pounds in 1893; 
18,974,661 pounds in 1894; and 20,651,086 pounds in 
1895. Black, fat and heavy tobacco, and a small ])er- 
centage of light tobacco, are the types required for con- 
sumption in the Netherlands. 

Belgium likewise takes one special type, known as 
Belgian Cutter, which is a sliort leaf of a mottled, or 
piebald color, and of fair body, without fat or oil. The 
general quality and structure are such as have been 
noted as characterizing the German and Dutch Saucers, 
except that the grade is lower. It is used in Belgium 
for cutting purposes. Belgium also buys largely of 
Burley lugs. The export of American tobacco to Bel- 
gium was, 18,108,975 pounds in 1891; 16,644,542 
pounds in 1892; 12,509,366 pounds in 1893; 17,695,375 
pounds in 1894, and 25,104,707 pounds in 1895. Most 
of the tobacco taken belongs to the low grades. 

Denmark, Norway and Siveclen. — The tobacco con- 
sumed in these countries is for the most part grown in 
the United States, but rehaudled and prepared for their 
markets, mainly in Bremen. A bright mottled, or red, 
fleshy, sweet leaf, not fat, prepared in Germany from 
the product, usually, of Virginia and the Clarksville, 
Tennessee, districts, is a great favorite in Denmark, 
Norway and Sweden. In addition to this, many of the 
heavy Clarksville types cured with fire are largely con- 
sumed in these countries. The leaf is dipped in sweet 
prej)arations of licorice and sugar, redried, repacked 
and shipped to Norway and Sweden, where it is said to 
be "first chewed, then smoked and then snuffed." The 
direct exports from the United States to Denmark 
vary from 138,567 pounds in 1893 to 430,976 pounds, 
in 1895. 




PLATE XIII. BKiGHT YELLOW TOBACCO (Silky PryoT, seed plant). 

HigliUotip of seed, TJ feet; liiglit to top leaf, 2 feet 10 inches. Briglit 
tyjie of tobacco grown in Coffee county, Tennessee, and on the 
Cumberland plateau, 1070 feet altitude. 
68 



CLASblFICATiON AND MARKETS. G9 

Yelloiv Tobacco. — Of yellow tobacco, a large quantity 
is exported to Europe, ranging in quantity witli the dif- 
ferent districts, from one-third to one-half of the prod- 
uct grown. The following grades are chiefly taken for 
export : 

1. Cutters: Usually thin and bright, occupying 
a position, as to grade, intermediate between a wrapper 
and a lug. This grade contributes about one-fourth of 
the amount exported. Used for cigarettes and smoking 
tobacco. 

2. Bright, greenish yellow and lemon colored 
stripping leaf, used for fillers and partly as an English 
cutter. It is shipped both in leaf and in strips. All 
this grade, for the most part, is exported, and makes 
nearly half the quantity that goes abroad. It is used 
for plug and plug cut. 

3. Leafy cutting lugs, three grades, which make 
nearly one-fourth of the foreign shipments of yellow 
tobacco. 

In addition to these grades, a very small per cent of 
bright wrappers go abroad. 

African Shippers. — These are usually divided into 
three classes: 

1. Those which are suitable for the western coast of 
Africa, embracing Liberia, Sierra Leone, Senegambia and 
those French and Portugal possessions bordering on the 
gulf of Guinea, known as the Guinea coast. The to- 
bacco for these markets should be of long, dark leaf, 
strong body, small tie, packed into hogsheads of small 
size, and made to weigh about 1500 pounds gross. The 
tobacco must be neatly handled. 

2. The tobacco suitable for the coast further south 
should be of long leaf, medium to light color, fine fibers, 
nearly of the same length of leaf as class one, and 
handled neatly. The hogsheads should weigh 1450 
pounds gross. 



70 TOBACCO LEAF. 

3. The tobacco suitable for the more northern parts 
of Africa should consist of a light or piebald leaf, not so 
long as classes one and two, and packed in hogsheads of 
medium size, weighing not more than 1450 pounds 
gross. 

Tobacco for the African market is often packed in 
boxes or quarter hogsheads, which will hold from 300 to 
400 pounds gross, by hard prizing. Tobacco thus pre- 
pared is more subject to atmospheric influences than 
when prized in hogsheads. 

Most of the tobacco which finds its way to the African 
markets is put up by rehandlcrs in this country, but 
there is a fair proportion of leaf of suitable quality and 
handling put up by farmers, which is taken usually by 
Boston merchants, who send cargoes of various articles 
to the African coast. It requires 3000 liogsheads to 
supply the African demand for the tobacco grown in the 
United States. 

Shippers for Mexico, South America and the West 
Indies. — The baling wrapper is a heavy leaf, twenty-eight 
to thirty inches in length, of fair width, very fat and 
oily, of heavy texture and of a very dark color. A nec- 
essary requirement of this class is ^that it should be 
neatly tied in small bundles, strongly and carefully 
packed in casks, and moderately pressed. It is put up 
as a wrapper leaf in preparing stock for the trade of the 
several markets named. It is taken from the hogshead, 
after fermentation, and packed in bales weighing from 
one hundred to two hundred pounds. These bales are 
covered with a cloth. They are so prepared that two 
bales may be balanced across the back of a pack mule, 
for convenience of transportation over the mountainous 
regions in the districts in which the tobacco is con- 
sumed. 

Baling fillers are made of common, rich and heavy 
leaf, and fine lugs of heavy body, having a full supply of 



CLASSIFICATION" AND MARKETS. 71 

oils and fatness. Some of the exports to the West 
Indies are called ''black fats," and are made dark by 
heavy pressure and the application of water. 

Nondescript Tobacco. — This name applied to tobacco 
indicates that it cannot be classified. It has the merit 
of cheapness, and in times of scarcity of some well- 
deflned type, a nondescript variety, resembling it, is 
often substituted. The lowest and commonest grades of 
lugs, especially if air cured, like the trash of the White 
Burley, are often used in the United States for making 
the cheapest grades of pipe-smoking tobacco. Some- 
times stems are mixed with tiiem to increase the bulk 
and reduce the cost. The lowest qualities of lugs and 
nondescript are also sometimes used for making sheep 
wash. 

Stems, or midribs, are exported in considerable quan- 
tities to Germany and Sweden, and are used in the man- 
ufacture of cheap grades of snuff and chewing tobacco. 
They are also extensively used in the United States for 
the protection of fruit trees from the borer and other 
insect enemies. Stems for exportation are prized in a 
very dry condition, so as to save duty. Sweden uses 
about 2000 hogsheads of stems annually. The net 
weight of a hogshead averages from 1800 pounds to 2000 
pounds. 

CLASS III. 

CIGAR AND SMOKING TOBACCO. 

Havana Seed or SeedUaf. — Both varieties are as- 
sorted by the cigar manufacturer in practically the same 
manner. Seedleaf is used mostly as a binder. Com- 
paratively little can be used for wrappers, as the leaf is 
too rough, and its growth is not fine enough. Some 
manufacturers, however, still cling to seedleaf wrappers, 
and choice crops of this variety command a premium. 
The leaf from all varieties of cigar tobacco is assorted 



72 TOBACCO LEAF. 

for manufacturers' use into grades of leaf called wrap- 
pers, binders and fillers. These three grades are each 
agaiu subdivided into long and short grades, or into A 
and B grades, and sometimes even into C and D. Snort 
wrappers are not infrequently known as "lights." On 
the growing tobacco plant, the top and bottom leaves 
are of about the same size, the extremes of each being 
worthless. On the other hand, the cream of the plant 
is found in the leaves at the center of the plant. Be- 
tween the center leaves, or wrappers, and the end, or 
small, leaves, are the binders, while the end leaves, those 
from the bud to the upper binders, and from the tap- 
root to the lower binder leaves, are the fillers. 

The innermost tobacco in the cigar is the filler, the 
next leaf used is the binder, to keep the filler in the form 
or shape of a cigar, and the finishing or outside leaf is 
the wrapper. 

In buying cigar leaf, the manufacturer looks for 
the right burn, taste, texture, color, "feeling," general 
appearance and "strength." The views of different 
manufacturers on each of these points may vary widely. 
No hard and fast rule can be hiid down as to precisely 
the degree of each of these qualities that the majority of 
cigar manufacturers require? Moreover, tlie style, or 
fashion, in cigars frequently changes, while the whims, 
or demands of smokers are almost as varied as the num- 
ber of these individuals. Formerly, dark, coarse and 
strong-flavored cigars were the favorite, but now the 
general preference is for light colors and sweeter flavors. 
Still, many smokers want dark cigars of strong flavor. 
No one can tell Avhen the fashion will change. 

The old style of assorting cigars, as to color, was to 
make them up without assortment of the wrapper leaf 
before wrapping. After the cigars were made, they 
were assorted to six colors. Witli improvement in all 
lines of manufacturing, a finer ranging of colors was be- 



CLASSIFICATION AND MAKKETS. f3 

lieved possible, so that in recent years, manufacturers 
open each hand of wrapper tobacco and assort it to the 
six colors. These are called, 

Claro, very light brown. 

Colorado Claro, light brown. 

Colorado, brown. 

Colorado Maduro, dark brown. 

Maduro, dark. 

Oscuro, black. 
Of the latter, but little, if any, has been used for 
years. 

The cigars are wrapped with the above shadings, 
and each lot is kept by itself. As a leaf varies in 
color at opposite ends, a second assortment, this time of 
the cigars, is made. This is essential, as the tip of a 
leaf may be of a Colorado color, while the stalk end may 
be a Maduro. As finally placed in the box, the colors 
are so arranged by shadings that only an expert will 
notice any difference of shades in the same box among 
the finer grades of cigars. 

Large manufacturers nearly always manipulate leaf, 
more or less, after its purchase, for their particular 
needs. They will take a crop and sweat it over again 
during a season, and by regulating the heat and tem- 
perature, the leaf will come out two or three shades 
darker. Tiiis can be done by the experienced shop 
foreman, nearly to a certainty, every time. On the 
other hand, no process has, as yet, been devised for 
changing a leaf to a lighter color ; to the man discov- 
ering such a process awaits an immense fortune. 

As used in the cigar, binders may be a shade lighter 
than the wrapper, but binders are never put through 
the six-color assortment, as are wrappers. Binders 
are assorted into grades of sweetness and strength. 

The filler has much the same assortment ; it is the 
filler that makes the cigar ; that is, produces the taste, 




PLATE XIV. YELLOW TOBACCO (Lacks oi' VVaiid variety). 

Grown in Halifax county, Virginia. Hight, 26 inches; top leaves, 
10x23 Indies; middle leaves, 13x27 inches; bottom leaves, 13x24 
inches. 



74 



CLASSIFICATION AND MARKETS. - 75 

sweetness and strengtli. For that reason, filler leaf is 
selected for a character in itself, as sweetness, strengtli 
and perhaps catchy taste. A filler leaf may be most de- 
sirable, but wrapped with an undesirable wrapper or 
binder, its desirable quality may be detracted from and 
its chief value rendered worthless. On the other hand, 
tlie filler leaf may be "flat," and the wrapper or binder, 
or both, may give to the cigar nearly its entire value. 

The gum in cigar leaf is what produces much of its 
value in smoking. The taste, strength, texture, etc., 
are all more or less dependent on the amount of gum 
present. Sometimes a crop has too much gum ; this was 
especially true of the '93 and '94 crops of all sections 
of the country. The leaf raised in the section around 
East Hartford, Ct., should be kept two years for proper 
curing, as it contains an unusually large per cent of gum. 

To make cigars of the great variety of requirements 
called for by the trade, involves much skill and expe- 
rience in selecting and putting together the grades of 
leaf necessary to accomplish any desired result. The 
Judgment, or ability, to do this commands a high pre- 
mium in American cigar factories. It can only be 
learned by close observation and wide experience. It 
cannot be described in a book. To still further compli- 
cate the matter, crops from the same region may vary 
greatly in quality from year to year. It is customary to 
refer to the Connecticut seedleaf croj) grown in 1871 as 
the type of absolute perfection, while the Havana seed 
crop of 1893 was in many sections of remarkable quality 
when it came out of the sweat. The curing, and the 
subsequent fermentation, of the leaf, also profoundly 
affect its quality. The best the grower can do is to fol- 
low the matter closely from year to year, and strive for 
those qualities in his leaf which are in most demand — 
and he must follow the demand closely to see just what 
it is. 



76 • TOBACCO LEAF. 

The, Pipe-^moMng Tobacco now most liiglily prized, 
and in greatest demand, is made mainly from the bright 
lugs of the yellow-tobacco districts. These lugs are of 
three sub-grades, viz : Common or sand lugs ; medium 
or smooth lugs, and bright or wrapping lugs, 

A mixture of heavier lugs, or dark, low leaf, is 
made when greater strength is required in the tobacco. 
White Burley lugs, which are usually fine and bright, 
are much used for making granulated pipe-smoking to- 
bacco. These lugs are usually of sweet flavor, thin in 
leaf, light or yellowish-brown in color, inclined to be 
trashy and chaffy, and, when mixed with the Carolina 
and Virginia bright lugs, make the very highest grade of 
smoking tobacco for pipes. It is sweet to the taste, 
mild in the effects, and exceedingly popular with per- 
sons of sedentary habits. A strong pipe-smoking to-' 
bacco is preferred by persons who live an active, out- 
door life. Some of the Burley lugs, especially those 
that aie bright in color and thin of leaf, are granulated, 
and form good stock for tlie manufacture of cigarettes, 

Perique tobacco, grown exclusively in Louisiana by 
the descendants of the Arcadians, is peculiar in the 
methods used in its curing and its preparation for mar- 
ket. It emits a highly spirituous odor, much liked by 
some smokers. While but few pipe smokers prefer the 
Perique in its unadulterated state, a suitable mixture of 
it with other tobacco makes a popular brand for pipe 
smoking. The total amount of Perique grown now 
reaclus 175,000 pounds per annum, according to tlie 
autliority of S. Hershein & Co., who handle the entire 
product. This is said to be twice as much as there is 
any demand for. The production has extended and 
largely increased during the past few years. Common 
lugs from the various tobacco districts constitute the 
lower grades of many types. These lugs are trashy, 
earth-burned, deficient in body and weight of leaf, of 



CLASSIFICATION AND MARKETS. 77 

every color known to the cured-tobacco plant, and 
milder than the better grades of the types from whicli 
they are taken. 

By a proper admixture of colors and strength of leaf, 
many brands of pipe-smoking tobacco are made from such 
lugs, as bright, dark, brown, red, spangled, yellow, mild, 
medium and strong. Some air-cured lugs are granulated 
for cigarettes, the stock being furnished from the liglit, 
thin products of Kentucky, Tennessee, Indiana, Illinois, 
Missouri, eastern Ohio and Maryland. The lugs se- 
lected for this purpose are light in weight and color. 

Some heavy-bodied lugs are used for snufif ; some 
lighter grades for cigar fillers, and still lighter for the 
pipe — either cut or granulated. 

Stogy wrappers and fillers, nsed for making a 
coarse, common, domestic cigar, is a western -grown leaf, 
of full length and breadth, and of light body and tine 
fiber. Uniformly dark colors are selected. To a veiy 
small extent, a red or cinnamon color is required. The 
tobacco for this purpose must be air cured and entirely 
free from any flavor inparted by fire or smoke. It is 
necessary, before being used, that it shall be somewhat 
soured by sweat or fermentation. The manufacture of 
this class of cigars is carried on in Louisville, Ky., Cin- 
cinnati, Ohio, Pittsburg, Pa., and in Wheeling, W. 
Va. The difference between the wrappers and fillers is 
in grade only. What are called " self- woikers " consist 
of packages in which both fillers and wrajipers are put 
up in proper proportions. 

A plug tobacco, wrapped with fine-fibered Olarks- 
ville tobacco, of good breadth of leaf and of a port wine 
color, is put up in the United States for making cigars, 
and nearly all is exported. These wrappers impart a 
rank flavor to the cigars. They are also produced in 
some parts of Virginia. A few of them only are used in 
the manufacture of stogy cigars. 



78 TOBACCO LEAP. 

The Indiana Kite-Foot, a variety having a broad, 
short leaf, grown in Owen and Clark counties, in 
Indiana, is used for making common cigars. This to- 
bacco is cured with fire, and the color is generally brown, 
sprinkled with yellow spots. 

Little Dutch is a small variety, with thin leaf, 
sweet, dark brown in color, with a glossy surface, and it 
is grown in the Miami Valley of Ohio. It makes a very 
pleasant pipe-smoking tobacco. It is easily injured by 
the process of fermentation and for tliat reason is not 
popular with manufacturers of tobacco or cigars. It 
loses twenty per cent of its weight by sweating, and 
has less nicotine than any other tobacco grown, having 
only 0.63 of one per cent. 



CHAPTER V. 

SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION TO TOBACCO. 

Few plants are so susceptible to soil, feeding and 
culture, as tobacco. Certainly no other crop requires 
more scientific knowledge to grow it to perfection. 
Men who have raised it for years, who have closely stud- 
ied their own and others' experiments, agree with the 
authors that the scientific aspect of tobacco culture is 
just beginning to be understood. The curing of the 
leaf, and its subsequent fermentation, are also only just 
beginning to be understood. All these matters open up 
most fascinating fields in chemistry, physics and bacte- 
riology, upon which we have space to but briefly touch. 

AS TO THE COMPOSITION OF TOBACCO. 

Constituents of Tobacco Leaf. — Nicotine is the ac- 
tive principle of tobacco upon which its peculiar value 
depends. To it the narcotic and intoxicating qualities of 
the leaf are mainly due. It is an oily substance that 
quickly evaporates, and has a strong, pungent and i^ecul- 
iar odor. Nicotine is present in the plant from the 
time it commences to grow in the seed bed, until it has 
reached maturity and gone through all the fermentative 
changes incident to curing, sweating and manufacture. 
The flavor and characteristic odor of tobacco are supposed 
to be due to a volatile substance called nicotianine. For 
practical purposes it may be considered with nicotine, 
or as a part of it. 

The percentage of nicotine varies in the different 
parts of the plant, and this variation increases as the 

79 



80 TOBACCO LEA.F. 

plant reaches maturity, but every part contains some 
trace of this alkaloid. The percentage of nicotine is 
greater just as the leaf reaches maturity, than in either 
the green or overripe leaves. Apparently the formation 
and accumulation of nicotine in the leaf continue as 
long as there is growth. The effect of nicotine, after 
plant growth ceases, is not understood, nor is the office 
of nicotine in the economy of the plant definitely stated. 
The amount of nicotine in the whole leaf (exclusive of 
the stem or midribs), of American-grown tobacco, ranges 
from less than one per cent to nearly six per cent of the 
chemically dry substance. 

''This variation in the percentage of nicotine," 
says Carpenter, "is due, in some measure, to different 
varieties, but whatever variety is grown, or what other 
conditions ]irevail, it is almost always noticed that those 
influences which tend to produce a coarse, rank growth, 
containing a large percentage of albuminoids, also pro- 
duce a comparatively large amount of nicotine. The 
climate, nature of soil and fertilizers, treatment of crop, 
etc., all have their influence. Of all these conditions, 
that of soil and fertilizers seems to be the most impor- 
tant. A rich, heavy soil, fertilized with a strong nitrog-^ 
enous manure, is apparently favorable to the produc- 
tion of a high percentage of nicotine, while the reverse 
is true of a light, sandy soil containing little organic 
matter. Havana-grown tobacco, which contains a low 
percentage, has, in addition to soil, the benefit of a very 
moist atmosphere. 

"For this reason-, some have attributed the reverse 
conditions as favorable to the production of nicotine. 
F'rom the results of the investigation of tobaccos grown 
in the United States, Ave can find no ground for this as- 
sertion, 'i'obacco of the seedleaf variety grown in Con- 
necticut, on a rich loam, gave over four per cent of nic- 
otine, while that grown on a sandy loam soil contained 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION". 81 

only about one per cent. There we have different con- 
ditions of soil in the same climate ; and other instances 
of a similar character might be cited. 

"As nicotine is the active principle of tobacco, upon 
which the stitnulating effect largely depends, it would 
naturally appear that its development to a high degree 
would be desirable, but such is not the case. What are 
considered the best qualities almost always contain u 
small percentage, while a large percentage usually indi- 
cates coarseness. While, as stated, certain conditions 
are conducive to the development of nicotine, it is un- 
doubtedly true that the subsequent treatment has some 
influence on the amount present in the finished product. 
The different fermentative processes required to develop 
proper flavor and color necessarily decompose, to a 
greater or less extent, the different compounds present 
in the leaf. It may be true, therefore, that in some 
cases the nicotine content may be appreciably less in the 
fermented product than was present in the green plant. 
For this reason, the analyses of the different varieties 
which have been subjected to different processes of cur- 
ing and fermenting, cannot safely be relied upon as giv- 
ing the exact amount developed by certain conditions in 
the field, but the results, in a general way, confirm what 
has been previously noted." 

Davidson finds that changes in the amount of nico- 
tine in leaf at the time of topping, curing, and after 
being properly cured, are very slight, but in the cured 
state it seems to be much greater. He questions this 
latter point. 

Other Substances in Tobacco. — Tobacco, like other 
plants, contains small proportions of starch, sugar and 
woody fiber, or cellulose, the amount and nature of 
which governs, to some extent, the burn of tobacco. 
These elements, together with the fatty and resinous 
substances present, also have much influence on the 
6 



82 TOBACCO LEAF. 

flavor of the leaf. The nitrogen-containing substances 
or albuminoids, also form an important constituent, the 
effect of which is but little understood, and the same is 
true of the acids in tobacco — nitric, citric, acetic and 
pectic. There are other organic or carbonaceous sub- 
stances, of which still less is known. 

Ash or Mineral Ingredients make up a large part of 
the tobacco plant. The ash constitutes from 15 to 25 
per cent of the chemically dry leaf, 5 to 15 per cent of 
the stalk, and from 5 to 15 per cent of the root. The 
quantity and character of the mineral ingredients have 
a j)rofouud influence on the quality of leaf, especially 
for smoking. These mineral ingredients vary widely in 
different varieties, and also in the same variety under 
different conditions (see Table IV, Pages 112 and 113). 
Potash and lime each constitute about one-third of the 
ash, the other third being composed of phosphoric acid, 
magnesia, soda, sulphuric acid, carbonic acid, chlorine, 
silica (sand), alumina (clay) and iron (ferric oxide). 

Effect of Constituents. — The principal ingredients 
that are supposed to most affect quality are, nicotine, 
nitrogen, potash, lime, magnesia and chlorine. The 
quantity of nicotine in the leaf is governed, to some ex- 
tent, by the amount and character of the nitrogenous 
substances the plant feeds upon. The other elements 
also vary in amount with variety, soil, climate and fer- 
tilizer. One cannot s})eak positively of their effect upon 
the curing or chewing quality of the leaf. 

Why certain crops of leaves of tobacco burn well 
and others burn badly, is not fully understood. Nessler 
demonstrated that tobacco which contains large quanti- 
ties of chlorides does not burn well, especially when the 
quantity of potash present is small. Nessler found, 
from examination of forty-six samples of tobacco grown 
in different parts of Baden, on soils of diverse character, 
that the more potash and the less chlorine a leaf con- 



SCIENCE IK ITS APPLICATION. 83 

tains, the longer it will continue to glow when lighted. 
The higher the per cent of potash, the more chlorine 
may be present without seriously affecting the burn of 
the leaf. A Sumatra leaf with 0.04 to 0.78 per cent of 
chlorine and 5 per cent of potash, burned very well, 
while a Baden tobacco with 0.4 per cent chlorine and 
only 3 per cent of potash burned badly. On the other 
hand, the less clilorine there is in the leaf, the less pot- 
ash is necessary to secure a good burning quality. He 
concludes that no tobacco burns well which has less 
than 2.5 per cent potash, if there is with it more than 
0.4 per cent chlorine. 

Schloesing made some experiments on poor, sandy 
soil that was somewhat calcareous, and yet clayey 
enough to be rather tenacious. The soil contained very 
little chlorine, sulphuric acid or potash. Plots to which 
no potash was applied gave bad-burning tobacco ; 
those fertilized with chlorides gave tobacco which con- 
tained about four times as much chlorine as the others, 
showing that chlorine is readily assimilated by the plant ; 
and the tobacco containing this large proportion of chlo- 
rine burned badly. 

Both Schloesing and Nessler, from independent ex- 
periments and investigations, agree that the burning 
quality of tobacco is governed by the presence of the 
soluble carbonate of potash, and that when the potash is 
combined with chlorine, the combustibility is jioor. This 
is not fully confirmed by the Poquonock experiments, 
which seem to indicate that a small amount of 
chlorine*is not objectionable, while it is essential to nor- 
mal plant growth. But an excess of chlorine is unfavor- 
able to a good burn. This is true both before and after 
fermentation. Plots K and L received much more chlo- 
rine than the others, it being supplied in the double 
manure salt ; the leaf from these plots had less capacity 
to hold fire than most of the others. 



84. TOBACCO LEAF. 

Other investigations in this country also do not sus- 
tain the idea that the burning quality is entirely con- 
trolled by the composition of the ash, and it is now be- 
lieved that combustibility is the result of several condi- 
tions, of which the ash is but one. These conditions 
are, the abundance of organic potash salts (i. e., those 
yielding carbonate of potash), the abundance but not ex- 
cessive quantity of woody tissue, and the abundance of 
snlphates. Mineral salts which fuse at the burniuL' 
temperature, such as the chlorides and phosphates of 
potash aud soda, hinder free burning ; and sugar, gum 
and albuminous matters are difficult of combustion, and 
therefore impede burning. 

Composition at Different Stages of Growth also 
varies widely in both organic and mineral substances. 
Original analyses of three Virginia tobaccos, set forth in 
the Appendix, show that at time of cutting, the leaf con- 
tains about twice as much ash as the stalk, and the 
same quantity of nitrogen, more lime, and twice as much 
insoluble matter ; but the stalk contains over twice as 
much phosphoric acid as the leaf, one-third more potash 
and four times the chlorine. The composition of the leaf 
alone undergoes but little change from time of topping 
until cured. The stalk, when cured, has gained slightly 
in nitrogen and phosphoric acid, much in lime, but 
has lost nearly one-fourth of its potash. 

How to Snpjily the Principal Ingredients is the vital 
problem, in growing fine tobaccos. But a sharp distinc- 
tion must be drawn between what the tobacco plant con- 
tains, and how large a supply of the elements of the 
plant food are essential for a successful crop. Chemical 
analyses are valuable in determining absolutely the per- 
centage of the food elements contained in the plant, and 
they give an excellent basis for intelligently framing a 
manurial supply, but afford little indication of the 
quantity required. Under the old English system of 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION. 85 

farming, the great desideratum was to make a soil rich 
in plant food, that could be called upon to grow any 
crop suitable to the climate ; of late years, in this coun- 
try, the tendency has been to fertilize especially for the 
crop under cultivation. One system is fertilizing the 
land, the other is fertilizing the crop. With tobacco, 
and in fact with all market garden crops, fertilizing the 
soil is the method to be followed, except that f(jr tobacco 
an excess of phosjdioric acid is unnecessary, and also 
that special care must be taken to exclude all compounds 
of chlorine. 

This system of stocking the land with an excess of 
manurial matter is the more essential for tobacco, be- 
cause lands are very differently affected by the fertilizing 
elements. Some lands have a great power of fixing and 
retaining potash in an almost insoluble form ; others 
have a strong affinity for lime ; and much difference is 
noticed in the ease with which the nitrogen supply is 
developed for the use of the growing crop. The only 
safe rule is to give a superabundance of all forms of 
plant food that are requii'ed. More care is necessary in 
the selection of manurial supply for tobacco than for 
any other crop, because it is a remarkably delicate plant, 
and the texture and burning qualities of the leaf are 
largely influenced by the materials upon which it feeds. 

Another reason why tobacco and many other quick- 
growing crops require much larger stores of plant food 
in the soil than is found in the chemical analyses of the 
product, is because the roots of the crop cannot occupy 
every portion of the soil, especially in the early stages of 
growth. The demand made on the soil, or on fertili- 
zers, by the tobacco crop, is greater than that made by 
any other crops which receive as much of nearly every 
kind of plant food. Hay is almost as exhaustive as 
tobacco, measured in total extract from the soil, but 
grass grows the whole year throughout, save when the 



86 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ground is frozen or covered with snow, or for more than 
eight montlis. It is true, the period of active growth 
required to mature a hay crop begins in spring, and is 
finished in three months ; but during the year previous, 
for at least five months, the grass roots are storing up 
food in their root stocks, or bulbs, for the more rapid 
aftergrowth. Tobacco, on the other hand, cannot bi 
set out in the field before summer is begun, and it 
should be in the shed in about three mouths. Thus, 
its growth must be a very rapid one, and the supplies 
of food in the soil must be very abundant, so that the 
rapidly extending roots may be met at every point with 
their necessary pabulum. An acre of first-rate grass 
land yields, as the result of eight months' growth, two 
to three tons of crop, while the tobacco land must yield 
that weight in three months. 

The real disparity, however, is much greater. The 
principal growth of tobacco is accomplished in the hot- 
test summer weather and in a period of some forty or 
sixty days. Very heavy fertilizing is, therefore, neces- 
sary, to provide for its nourishment, and the more so 
because the best tobacco lands are light in texture and 
may suffer from loss by drainage, evaporation or decom- 
position, to say nothing of drouth. 

TOBACCO DOES NOT EXHAUST THE SOIL. 

One of the most important truths established by the 
application of science to tobacco, is the annihilation of 
the old idea that this crop exhausts tlie soil to an extra- 
ordinary degree. It is true that tobacco requires i)lenty 
of food in the soil, as we have just pointed out. But if 
this is obtained by growing the crop on virgin soil, 
and by not returning to the land what the crop 
takes from it, then tobacco does exhaust the soil ; so 
will any staple crop under the same treatment. This 
was the method long followed, especially in the South, 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION. 87 

to clear up new land, as old fields became barren from 
constant cropping without manures or fertilizers. 
Cocke declared against tobacco years ago, because "its 
culture had exhausted whole counties in Virginia, from 
the Atlantic to the head of tide waters," but the same 
exhaustion is found in sections where tobacco was never 
grown. 

In both instances, soil poverty was due to soil deple- 
tion — constant taking away of crops and not putting 
back what they removed from the soil. Low in prices 
as lands were, it was found much easier and cheaper to 
occupy fresh soils than reclaim exhausted ones. Com- 
plaint is now made in the White Burley districts of 
Kentucky and Ohio, that the soil is becoming rapidly 
exhausted under tobacco culture, even where manuring 
is practiced. This is easily accounted for. The surface 
of the country is rolling, or extremely broken, and when 
planted in a crop that requires clean cultivation, vast 
quantities of the surface soil are swept into the valleys 
with every rain that falls, gullies form rapidly, and the 
earth becomes scarified with gaping, ugly wounds, down 
which flows the very lifeblood of the soil. The remedy 
for this waste is rotation with grasses, clover, alfalfa 
and grain crops, to bind the soil. 

The truth is, no crop is exhaustive if it is properly 
fertilized ; all that is required is to supply an abundance 
of every element that the plant needs, and of the right 
quality and condition ; for if this is not done, the latent 
resources of the soil are drawn upon to supply the defi- 
ciency, and the soil is impoverished just so far as it is 
drained of any element essential to plant growth. Fur- 
thermore, the subject of the exhaustion of the soil by 
tobacco sliould be considered from two standpoints : 
First, what is actually removed from the soil by the sale 
of the crop ; second, what is required in the soil to pro- 
duce the crop. And a casual view of the subject would 



88 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



fail to find an intimate connection between the two, as 
is explained below. 

What Tobacco Takes From the Soil. — This has been 
very carefully determined by Johnson for Connecticut- 
grown seedleaf, and. by Davidson for Virginia-grown 
tobaccos, as appears in the subjoined table. The seed- 
leaf crop mentioned was grown from 8000 plants on one 
acre, yielding an average of 1875 pounds of pole-cured 
leaves (or 1400 pounds of water-free leaf), and 3300 
pounds of pole-cured stalks (or about 1300 pounds of 
water-free stalks). Davidson's average of analyses of 
Bradley broadleaf, Goldfinder, White Burley and Yellow 
Orinoco, shows a fair crop of Virginia tobaccos to be 
1000 pounds per acre of barn-cured leaf (or 938 pounds 
of water-free leaf), and 353 pounds of cured stalks (or 
334 pounds of water-free stalks) : 

Table I.— POUNDS OP PLANT FOOD KEMOVED FROM THE SOIL BY 
THE TOBACCO CROP GROWN ON ONE ACRE. 





Connecticut Seedleaf. 


Virg 


nia Tobacco. 




1875 lbs. 


3200 lbs. 












cured 


of 


Total. 


1000 lbs. 


353 lbs. 


Total. 




leaf. 


stalks. 




leaf. 


sialics. 




Nitrogen, 


65 


32 


97 


44 


12 


56 


I'liosphoric acid, 


8 


8 


16 


5 


2 


7 


Potash, 


89 


49 


138 


52 


17 


69 


Soda, 


4 


3 


7 








Lime, 


81 


13 


94 


49 


8 


57 


Magnesia, 


25 


5 


30 


19 


3 


22 


Sulphuric acid. 


16 


5 


21 








Clilorine, 


5 


6 


11 








Total, 


293 


121 


414 









The Connecticut crop of 1875 pounds of cured leaf 
takes relatively large quantities of nitrogen (100 pounds), 
potash (140 pounds) and lime (100 pounds), and very 
little phosphoric acid (IG ])Ounds). The Virginia leaf 
also draws heavily on these elements, and a crop of Vir- 
ginia tobacco yielding the same weight (1875 pounds of 
leaf) contains, of nitrogen 98 pounds, potash 130 pounds. 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION. 89 

lime 99 pounds, and phosphoric acid 13 pounds, in the 
leaf and stalk. 

It also ai)pears that the stalks in snch an acre of 
Connecticut tobacco weigh, at the time of cutting, 
about 9500 pounds, of which about 8300 pounds is water. 
Two-thirds of this is evaporated in curing, and the rest 
is carried back to the field in the cured stalks. The 
later the crop is cut, the more nitrogen and mineral ele- 
ments it contains ; stalks cut on August 23 contained 
26 pounds of nitrogen per acre, which increased to 42 
pounds when not cut until September 7. Like gains 
occur in Virginia and other types of tobacco. Ko deter- 
mination is at hand of the amount of plant food in the 
roots of such a Connecticut crop as that above named, 
but the Virginia crop of 1000 pounds leaf per acre con- 
tains in its roots, of nitrogen eight pounds, potash seven 
and one-half pounds, lime five and one-half pounds, 
phosphoric acid and magnesia, one pound each. 
Whatever plant food the roots contain, of course, remains 
in the soil, and it is not necessary to consider it after 
the first season, but on new land, sufficient plant food 
must be present to develop the roots freely, in addition 
to the other parts of the plant. In any rational system 
of tobacco culture, the stalks are always returned to the 
soil as fertilizer ; hence the only fertility really lost is 
that sold in the leaf. 

But since the entire plant must be fed, the necessity 
of large quantities of plant food is at once apparent, for 
everything essential to the perfect development of every 
part of the plant must be present in the soil in a thor- 
oughly available condition. The demands of touacco can 
be better appreciated by comparing it with other leading 
field crops. And since cigar leaf is grown under the 
highest state of cultivation and with a lavish supply of 
fertility, it is only fair to use for comparison other crops 
grown under similar favorable conditions. Prof. John- 



'JO 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



son used for comparative purpose a crop of rye yielding 
32 bushels of grain and 3800 pounds of straw, corn 
yielding 75 bushels of grain and 8000 pounds of stalks 
and leaves, 2f tons of hay, and 300 bushels of potatoes. 
Davidson compared the yield of 1000 pounds of Virginia 
leaf per acre (and 353 pounds of stalks) with 30 bushels 
of corn and stover, or oats, 30 bushels and straw : 



Table II. 



-PLANT FOOD KEMOVED FROM AN ACRE OF LAND BY 
TOBACCO AND OTHER CROPS. 





Phos 


Pot 


Lime 


Mas 


Total 


Nitro 


Connecticut Seedleaf. 


acid 


ash 


nesia 


ash 


gen 


Tobacco, 1875 lbs, lea? and stalks. 


16 


138 


94 


30 


424 


97 


Potatoes, 300 bu., 


32 


101 


4 


7 


170 


58 


Hay, 2% tons. 


23 


:S 


43 


19 


373 


73 


Corn, 75 bu., and stalks, 


53 


42 


28 


430 


105 


Rye, 32 bu., and straw, 


22 


39 


13 


9 


186 


41 


Virginia Leaf. 














Tobacco, 1000 lbs, leaf and stalks. 


8 


78 


64 


12 


184 


59 


Corn, 30 bn., and stalks. 


15 


46 


12 


13 


121 


45 


Oats, 30 bu., and straw. 


9 


36 


5 


5 


72 


27 


Wheat, 30 bu., and straw, 


23 


28 


10 


8 


95 


45 



Under a rational system of husbandry, cornstalks, 
oat straw, wheat straw .and hay are fed to stock, and 
their ingredients return to the soil in manure, just as 
tobacco stalks return to the land. Hence, we should 
only compare plant food removed in the grain alone 
with that taken off in the tobacco leaf alone. Eye 
straw, however, is usually sold, also potatoes, so that the 
total quantity these crops take from the soil may be 
compared with the plant food in tobacco leaf. 

Table III.— POUNDS OF PLANT FOOD TAKEN FROM THE SOIL BY AV- 
ERAGE YIELDS PER ACRE OF SO MUCH OF TOBACCO AND OTHER 
CROPS AS IS NOT RETURNED TO THE LAND. 



Connecticut Leaf. 


Nitrogen. 


Potash. 


Phosphoric 
acid. 


Tobacco, 1875 pounds, 
Corn, 75 bn. grain. 
Rye, 32 bu., 
Potatoes, 300 bu., 

Virginia Leaf. 
Tobacco, 1000 pounds, 
Wlieat, 30 bu., 
Oats, 30 bu., 


65 
74 
31 

58 

44 
43 
20 


89 

16 

10 

101 

52 
11 
6 


8 
30 
15 
32 

5 

16 
8 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION". 91 

It appears that the full yield of Connecticut tobacco 
takes from the soil less nitrogen than a good crop of 
corn grown under similar conditions, but little more 
than potatoes, but twice as much as rye. Of potash, 
tobacco takes even less than potatoes, but several times 
as much as corn or rye. Of pliosphoric acid the other 
crops take two or three times as much as tobacco. In 
Virginia leaf, the same relative proportions hold, though 
the quantities differ, the average crop of tobacco taking 
about the same quantity of nitrogen, nearly five times 
as much potash, but only one-third as much phosphoric 
acid as a wheat crop of thirty bushels per acre. 

SOME RELATIONS OF BACTERIA TO TOBACCO 
CURING AND MANUFACTURE. 

BY WILLIAM FEEAR. 

There are several distinct classes of organisms to 
"whose activity the various fermentations are traced. 
First among these may be named the molds, distin- 
guished by the formation of a closely interwoven net- 
work of white, thread-like cells, or hyj^hcB ; from this 
network, or mycelitim, spring little stalks, swelling or 
branching into larger heads ; these heads, in turn, bear 
the colored spores, or reproductive elements, appearing 
as a fine dust upon the upper surface of the grayish- 
green or black molds to which jellies, cheese and bread 
kept in damji places are subject. Molds also multiply 
by the branching out of new hyjihae, affording the root 
from which new stalks may spring. 

Another class of organized ferments is that to which 
yeast belongs. The organism is much simi)ler in these 
cases than in the molds. It is composed of only a sin- 
gle cell, or papery sac, filled with jelly-like protoplasm. 
This protoplasm carries on, however, most of the func- 
tions of more highly organized beings. Yeasts repro- 
duce by budding, — the sprouting from the side of the 



92 TOBACCO LEAF. 

parent cell of a little, bubble-like offshoot ; this, when 
sufficiently developed, detaches from the parent and 
assumes an independent existence. 

Most important of all is that class of ferments 
known in general as bacteria. There are many spe- 
cies of these, differing in shape, mode of aggregation, 
conditions of life and products. If a liquid containing 
bacceria be examined, it will often be found swarming 
with these little organisms, ranging from 3^0 to less 
than 20000 of an inch in size, according to the species. 
The little beings are not quiet, but are vigorously active. 

Rei)roduction of the various species is accomplished 
in two ways : First, by fission, or the splitting m half 
of the single-celled parent ; the small halves then sepa- 
rate and grow to full size. Second, many species develop 
within the body of the parent a number of thick-walled 
bodies, or spores, which are later discharged, and which, 
under favoring conditions, develop into the normal, ma- 
ture bacterium. 

Most important features of these organisms are 
their wide distribution and their wonderfully rapid mul- 
tiplication. Tliough requiring a certain amount of 
moisture for their active life, they are not destroyed by 
slow drying at a low temperature. In consequence, they 
are carried as dust by every passing wind, to new lodg- 
ing places, where they develop if the conditions are 
favorable. As, under most favorable conditions, the 
individuals of some species can reproduce in twenty 
minutes after their own birth, it is a simple arithmetical 
process to show that a very short time would suffice for 
them to occupy the globe. Such favorable conditions 
never occur ; but the multiplication often observed is, 
nevertheless, tremendous ; and the fermentative changes 
produced are correspondingly great. 

The conditions surrounding them greatly influence 
their activity and multiplication. Some require free 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION. 93 

access to air, and are called aeroMes, in consequence ; 
others, when cut off from the air, are able to obtain from 
oxygen-containing compounds all of this element they re- 
quire for respiration ; such are called anaerobies. Usu- 
ally, Imcteria require a slightly alkaline medium for their 
development ; only a few can survive in an acid liquid ; 
wliercas, molds require the latter medium for their best 
growth. When, therefore, the lactic ferment, which 
sours milk, and the nitrifying ferment, which forms 
nitric acid in the soil, have produced an excess of acid, 
they cease to act until the excess is neutralized, when 
Ihey iene\^ their j^roduction of acid. Vinegar, there- 
fore, serves as a preventive of bacterial fermentntion in 
food preparations. Other substances, conspicuously car- 
bolic acid, copper and mercury salts, similarly prevent 
t!ie action of bacteria, and destroy them. 

While diffuse light is not fatal, direct sunshine is 
the most destructive natural foe of tliese ferments. 
They require for their best action certain temperatures, 
varyiiiii' for different species. In general, 100° F. is 
mt St favorable ; below 50° and above 150° F. few are 
active, and many are destroyed. The process of pasteur- 
izing milk by heating to 150° for thirty minutes is based 
up;)n this fact. Some bacteria, and especially spores, 
which are more resistant, owing to their thick walls, are 
not killed by dry temperatures as low as 315° F., or 
above 312°, the boiling point of water ; very few, how- 
ever, withstand the latter temperature if they be moist ; 
consequently, boiling the liquid containing them, or 
steaming them, are among the most commonly employed 
methods of sterilization of liquids or solids — that is, the 
destiuction of the bacteria the latter contain. 

Bacteria differ, not only in these respects, but in 
the color, form and consistency of the colonies they 
make in various liquid and solid media. 

The most sharply distinctive characteristic, how- 



94 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ever, and that most frequently useful for their determi- 
nation, is that the products they form are distinctly dif- 
ferent. Some liberate gas, and the gases from various 
species differ in composition. In other cases, substances 
of pronounced odor or flavor are developed, as in the pu- 
trefactive fermentations, and in those of ripening cheese 
and ripening cream. The disease germs accomplish 
their fatal results, it is now believed, more frequently 
through the poisons they form in the blood — poisons 
similar, chemically, to the active principles of snake 
venom — tban through any direct action of their own. 
Ordinarily, the conditions favorable to t^e develop- 
ment of one species of bacterium are also such as permit 
the development of other species. Hence, under natural 
conditions, a single species rarely occurs alone. By se- 
lection of the most congenial nutritive medium for a 
given species of which it is desired to secure a pure cul- 
ture, — that is, a colony in which no foreign species ex- 
ists, — and by regulation of temperature so that that 
most favorable to the species in question may be main- 
tained, it is possible to gradually eliminate undesirable 
species from a series of cultures, and secure a culture in 
which only the species desired remains. The process is 
much hastened, first, by using a sterilized culture me- 
dium and sterilized apparatus ; second, by preventing 
access of foreign germs from the air — this is accom- 
plished by filtering the air to which the solution is ex- 
posed, through cotton- wool, or some similar substance, 
which removes all floating dust from the air, including 
the dried germs ; third, by diluting the primary material 
from which the germs are taken, and using a very small 
quantity of the diluted substance to act as a starter for 
the new solutions ; often, this process introduces into 
some of the cultures very few, if any, foreign species, so 
that these cultures may be made the basis of further op- 
erations, and others, less pure, be rejected at once. 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION. 95 

Not only does this great world of organisms, hover- 
ing unseen about us, bristle with enemies to man 
and his friends, the domestic plants and animals, but 
among these enemies are numerous active, friendly spe- 
cies, contributing much to our wealth and comfort. 
Thus, vinegar, one of our most important condiments, 
is made only through the agency of the acetic ferment ; 
alcohol, a source of fearful injury from its misuse, yet 
invaluable in science and the arts, is made by the action 
of the yeasts ; clover, tbe hope of the despairing farmer, 
owes its soil-enriching power to a humble parasitic bac- 
terium which seizes its roots for a home ; and the finer 
flavors of the most aromatic butter are traced to the prod- 
ucts of the action of particular species of bacteria in the 
ripening cream. 

OFFICE OF BACTERIA IN CURING TOBACCO. 

Turning now to the consideration of the influence 
of bacteria in tobacco culture, we omit all reference to 
the fungous diseases to which tlie growing plant is sub- 
ject, and confine attention to the relations of these or- 
ganisms to the processes of curing and sweating. As 
the result of these processes, instead of the green color, 
rough, hard surface, brittle web, black ash, dark, tarry, 
ill-smelling smoke and bitter, burning flavor possessed 
by a quickly dried tobacco leaf, the leaves have a beau- 
tiful brown color, silky texture, elastic web, light blue 
and pleasantly aromatic smoke, a white or gray ash, and 
little of the unpleasant flavor of the green leaf. 

A very large fraction of these changes in quality is 
wrought during the first of these processes, the curing. 
Despite the fact that the Germans term it das Trocknen, 
or drying, it is neither a simple physical process, nor a 
purely chemical one. The results of late studies by 
Miiller-Thurgau * and Dr. J. Behrens, f show that dur- 

♦LandwirthscbaftlicliGs Jalirbueli, 14, 485-512. 

t Landwirtlischaf tliche Versuchs-Statioueu, 43, 280-293. 



96 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ing the process there is a large decrease in the dry mat- 
ter of the leaf, as well as in the water. The starch is 
turned to glucose, and the latter passes back into the 
veins, midrib and stem, and is finally destroyed there 
and breathed off as carbonic acid gas and water, owing 
to an abnormally increased respiration. There is no 
loss of )utrogen, either in the form of nicotine, nitric 
acid or albuminoids ; the latter compounds are, however, 
largely split up with the resultant formations of aspara- 
gine and other amides, — a change similar to that which 
occurs whenever leaves are for a long time shaded, or to 
that observed in the process of ensilage. Mere drying, 
and the slow oxidation caused by the direct action of 
the oxygen of the air, do not suffice to explain these 
changes. They are the result of life action. 

It is not probable, though, that the lower organisms 
are important in the normal curing process. Behrens 
remarks,* "micro-organisms were not found in an active 
condition upon the curing leaves, and their development 
upon the surface of the leaves, the sole point open to 
their attack, is rendered well-nigh impossible, owing to 
its dryness, to say nothing of the general dry condition 
of the inner tissues." 

The changes occur only while the protoplasm of the 
leaf cells retains life. If the leaf be frozen, or chloro- 
formed, the protoplasm is killed, and no normal curing 
can be effected thereafter. Evidently, the changes ob- 
served during the curing are due to an abnormal action 
of the dying protoplasm of the leaves themselves ; and 
bacterial aid offers no advantages. 

During this process, however, the lower organisms 
sometimes act injuriously. "Pole-burn" is prevalent 
during warm, damp, foggy weather ; in a few hours, 
the whole crop may be turned to a dark brown, wet, 

*Loc. cit., p. 285. 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION. 97 

soggy and easily torn lot of leaves, hopelessly damaged. 
Dr. Wni. C. Sturgis,* in describing this disease, says : 
"It is characterized by the appearance on the surface of 
the leaf, of small blackened areas, giving the leaf the 
aspect of having been sprinkled with some corrosive liquid. 
. . . These areas increase in size, become confluent, 
and sometimes within thirty-six hours, or at most, forty- 
eight, not only is the whole leaf affected, but the entire 
contents of the curing barn may be rendered quite 
worthless as tobacco. Microscopic study revealed in the 
center of each blackened spot a minute, elevated pustule. 
Sections through the center of one of these pustules 
showed that the tissue of the leaf was largely disinte- 
grated, and the cells themselves were largely filled with 
bacteria. . . . They develop rapidly in the tissues 
of the leaf, raising the epidermis, and finally breaking 
througli at one or more points in the blackened area, 

they spread out in a thin, slimy film, 
forming a brown, translucent crust of cheesy consistency, 
and composed entirely of the bacteria themselves." 

In tracing the development of the disease, this au- 
thor states that, at first, the surface of the leaf is at- 
tacked by a fungus of the genus Cladospor-ium, related 
to the leaf-spot disease of the tomato. This does little 
direct injury, but after some time the leaf is attacked by 
the bacteria, which swarm into the interior through the 
breaches made by the Cladosporium, the remains of 
which are found mingled with the bacteria. Of the lat- 
ter, there are, at least, two species, one a true Bacteri- 
um, the other a Micrococcus, of the variety Streptococcus. 

These bacteria develop best between 70° and 90° F. , 
but a temperature above 90° to 110°, or below 35° to 40°, 
checks their development. Furthermore, all attempts 
to inoculate the cured tobacco with them failed ; the 

♦Report of the Connecticut Ag. Exp. Sta., 1891, pp. 168-186. 

7 



98 TOBACCO LEAF. 

crop is in little danger after a period varying from ten 
to twenty days after the beginning of curing. Tlie rem- 
edy suggested isJ free ventilation and control of tempera- 
ture by aid of artificial heat. 

Behrens,* in a similar study, found instead of a 
Cladosporinm, Botrytis cinerea P., a spore-bearing fun- 
gus, and Sclerotinia Libertiana, Fckl., acting as the 
forerunners of decay, while others f have noted Pleo- 
spora sp., Botrytis vulgaris, Fr., and two species of the 
genus Maror as thus active. 

Another disease to which curing tobacco is also sub- 
ject, is '' stem rot,'' or white vein. This often attacivs the 
stalk a few days after cutting, but sometimes appears, 
late in the curing, upon imperfectly dried ribs and veins. 
These parts of the leaf are covered with patches of a 
long-piled, velvety mold of pure white color. Later, 
the web of the leaf is often invaded. These white 
patches are the mycelium of a species belonging to the 
genus Botrytis; the threads of the mycelium, first at- 
tacking the surface, later penetrate deeply into the un- 
derlying tissues. From the mycelial threads spring erect 
fibers, one-fourth of an inch high, giving the velvety 
appearance. These erect stems bear branches, extend- 
ing at right angles, and at the tips of these branches are 
formed the reproducing spores. This advanced state of 
development is rarely reached on the curing tobacco, be- 
cause the time is too short and the moisture insufficient. 
The formation of spores occurs in the stems and ribs 
after the stripping, and often the fungus springs up 
over the floor of the curing barn, and the next crop of 
leaf hung in the building will be in danger of inocula- 
tion by means of the spores developed by this growth of 
the fungus. The remedies suggested by Sturgis| are 

•Zeitsclirift fur Vt"Iaiizei>kninklieiteii. 3. p. ft3. 

t St urgis. Report i>f the Comieoticiit AtirioiiUmal Experiment Sta- 
tion, ISSUS, p. 85. 

(Report of the Connecticut Agricultiirul Kx. Sta., 18D1, p. 185. 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION. 99 

tho burning of all infected waste material from an old 
crop; the thorough fumigation of the curing barn, by 
burning sulphur after the removal of the crop, and 
again two weeks before the introduction of the new 
crop ; the sprinkling of the floor with a mixture of equal 
parts of dry air-slaked lime and sulphur; or even the 
covering of tlie earthen floor with an inch of clean soil. 

OFFICE OF BACTERIA IN TOBACCO FERMENTATION. 

While the curing of the tobacco is, in all probability, 
the effect of modified activity of the leaf cells themselves, 
the same cannot be said of the sweating. At the close 
of the curing process the leaves are fully dead. If the 
leaves be remoistened, packed closely together and allowed 
to stand, an action sets u\), liberating heat and introduc- 
ing new ((ualities into the tobacco. Nessler * was the first 
to explicitly declare that the process was distinctly a 
fermentative one; although Roller f notes the addition 
of yeast to promote tho rapidity of the action, implying 
a more or less clear recognition of the analogy between 
this process and alcoholic fermentation. 

At the time Nessler wrote, the principles and meth- 
ods of bacteriological research were unknown, so that 
his reasoning from analogy could not be submitted to 
direct proof by experiment. Since then, however, a 
number of interesting researches have been made. Of 
these, one of the earlier is that of Th. Schlocsing J u[)on 
the fermentations of tobacco used for the preparation ol' 
snuff. Work by the elder Schloesing had shown that 
there was a heavy consumption of atmospheric oxygen 
by the fermenting tobacco. Th. Schloesing set out to 
ascertain whether this was due to a purely chemical 
change, or whether bacterial action was wholly or par- 

»Der Tabak, 18G7, pp. 122-136. 
tl)er Tabak, AuksIjui-k, 1858, p. 75. 

i Memorial (les niaimfaotiircs de 1' etat, Vol. I, Fart 4, pp. 514-5B2; 
Vol, II, Part 1, pp. irj-136; Fart 2, pp. l'J2-210. 



100 TOBACCO LEAF. 

tially responsible for it. He nsecl samples sterilized, 
and others unsterilized, taken from the same lot of 
tobacco ; some was kept at a uniform temperature and 
some simply prevented from cooling below a certain 
point. He concludes that at a temperatui-e below 104° 
F., or above 158° F^, and possibly varying little from 
123° F., the. action is a purely chemical one, with which 
lower organisms have nothing to do. Theoretically, he 
believes the changes brought about by snuff fermenta- 
tions might be accomplished entirely without the aid of 
lower organisms. In practice, however, they serve to 
start the changes and develop the heat that is necessary 
to setting up the more rapid oxidations. " The physical 
properties of a good snuff tobacco," he says, "can be 
secured in two months at 158° F., in less time at 17G° 
F., and in ten to twelve days at 212° F., while the desired 
internal chemical changes are accomplished in the same 
period at the latter temperature." He finds that a new 
fermentation is sot up every time the tobacco is turned 
and repacked, and that the sum of the carbonic acid 
and oxygen in the air of the cases always exceeds 21 per 
cent, and may run up to 35 per cent. This is regarded 
as an evidence of the activity of anaerobic ferments. 
Schloesing found present a bacillus and a diplococcus. 

He compared the snuff fermentation with the 
aerobic fermentation of stable manure. Fesca and 
Imai * think it more closely comparable to the process 
of ensilage. But Behrens claims that, owing to the 
watery condition of silage, the fermentation of brown 
hay, a dryer product not in use in America, is more 
strictly analogous. 

In the *' sweating" of ordinary leaf, especially as 
practiced in Germany, Nessler says that a temperature 
of 106° F. is attained in the heap at a depth of one foot 

•Laudwirthscliaftliches Jahrbuch, 1888, p. 327. 



SCIENCE IN ITS APPLICATION. 101 

ill course of half a week and, at three feet, a tempera- 
ture of 129 ° F. It is needful to cover the heap with 
cloths to absorb the condensing moisture, which would 
otherwise condense in the upper lajers of tobacco, and 
cause rotting and molding. Smoking tobacco is not to 
be allowed. to heat above 122 ° F. Behrens believes that 
these changes are to be ascribed chiefly to the action of 
anaerobic ferments, although a local action of aerobic 
forms at the same time is not excluded. He found ir. 
sweated tobacco vigorous individuals of the widely dis- 
tributed aerobic form. Bacillus subtilis, and also an 
aerobic Clostridiu7n, which, like Closti'idium butyricum, 
formed endospores. He does not think the latter espe- 
cially active, but recalls the fact that Cohn attributes the 
fermentation or spontaneous heating of damp hay and 
stable manure to the former organism. Behrens* also 
states that he has found the mold, Aspergillus ftimi- 
qatus in sweating tobacco, ujion six out of eigiit samples 
from three different dealers. While this organism is 
regarded by Cohn as the cause of the heating of piled- 
up malt, it is not supposed to play any large part in the 
sweat. 

Behrens endeavored to ascertain the changes which 
occur during sweating. He found a loss of only 2.5 to 
5.6 per cent of dry matter, although others put it as 
high as eight to twelve per cent — in the latter case, the 
loss of water is included. This loss falls chiefly upon 
the soluble carbohydrates and less upon the non-volatile 
organic acids. There is no loss of nitrogen, yet one- 
third of the nicotine disappears ; it possibly serves as 
food for the lower organisms, as an earlier research f 
has shown that Botrytis cinerea can eat it. There is a 
loss of nitrate nitrogen and a diminution of the other 



* Centralblatt fur Bakteriologie unci Parasitenkuncle, 11 (1894) p. 
335 seq. 

t ZeitscUr. f, rtlaiizenkrankheiten, 3 (1893), pp. 85^6. 



103 TOBACCO LEAF. 

soluble substances. Butyric acid is present as one of the 
products of the sweat. 

The investigations of Cohn and others have shown 
that the flavors of butter are largely due to the prod- 
ucts formed by special ferments active in ripening the 
cream. Pure cultures of one ferment produced nau- 
seous butter ; of another, a butter with all the delight- 
ful aroma and flavor of the finest grass butter. Selected 
cultures of the latter bacterium are now on sale to the 
dairymen of America. 

SPECIAL CULTl'RES FOR SPECIAL FLAVORS IN THE LEAF. 

It has recently been queried whether tobacco, 
which was known not to attain its finest flavor and 
aromatic smoking qualities until after the sweat, might 
not, in the finer varieties, such as the better Cuban 
brands, as contrasted with less excellent kinds, owe its 
excellence in the former cases to the favoring influence 
of some special bacterial ferments. 

It has long been a matter of comment among the 
more expert buyers and manufacturers, that cases, in the 
center of which "black rot"" had developed sufficiently 
to injure the leaves immediately suiTounding, yielded 
tobacco of a finer flavor, more neiirly approaching the 
Cubau, than was obtained from other cases of the same 
lot that escaped the black rot. 

Emil Suchsland.* several years since, published a 
most suggestive paper upon this subject, from which I 
largely quote : *" In connection with bacteriological in- 
vestigations as to the influence of certain physical con- 
ditions upon bacterial development, made by me under 
the direction of Professor Zopf, I have, for a long 
time, been studying the nature of the tobacco-sweating 
process. This process is, it is well known, of the high- 



•Berichte der deutscli6n botamscheu Uesellscbaft, 9 (1891), pn. 
T»«l. 



SCIENCE IX ITS APPLICATION". 103 

est influence upon the usefulness and excellence of all 
varieties of tobacco. . . . Thus far it has been 
regarded as a purely chemical process ; but it has always 
seemed to me more probably a fermentation similar to 
the lactic, butyric and acetic acid fermentations, which 
are caused by bacteria. ... In all sweated tobacco 
thus far examined, it is worthy of note that bacteria are 
present in large numbers, but in small variety. At 
most, only two or three species occur, belonging espe- 
cially to the Bacteria proper, though sometimes to the 
Micrococci. Tobacco of the following sorts was tested: 
Havana, St. Domingo, Kentucky. Brazil, Turkish, 
Grecian, Russian, Pfalz, Alsace-Lorraine, Breisgau 
and Uckermark. Pure cultures of the bacteria upon 
these sorts were prepared. When tobacco of another 
sort than that from which the bacteria were taken, was 
inoculated by the pure culture of the latter, the tobacco 
thus inoculated took on the flavor and odor of the to- 
bacco from which the bacteria were derived. 

'*In view of these facts, the sweating process as- 
sumes more importance than it has thus far held. 
Heretofore, the aim in Germany has been to im]irove 
the tobacco by better culture and by the introduction of 
improved varieties; the latter soon deteriorate, however, 
in this climate, especially since the right kind of fer- 
ments are not present in the sweat. Our tobacco always 
suffers a sort of wild fermentation. But it is now pos- 
sible to introduce the better ferments into our own 
tobacco during the sweat. Every experiment 1 have 
made has given positive results. So surprising have 
been the changes in Pfalz tobacco, that excellent judges 
of domestic sorts have declared the tobacco thus sweated 
to be a foreign product. " 

Unfortunately, Suchsland has never carried further 
the w'ork thus interestingly outlinetl, Nevertheless, a 
firm in Berlin, Hermann Giesecke, offers for sale pure 



104 TOBACCO LEAF. 

cultures of the bacteria active in the sweating of the 
better tobacco, and Behrens, who has most recently 
looked into the subject, by way of investigation, is, 
though rightly conservative, strongly inclined to accept 
the practicability of Suchsland's suggestion. 

Clearly, the matter is one of vital importance to 
American growers and manufacturers. It is worthy of 
the simple, preliminary experiments that packers and 
makers can carry out, as well as of the more perfectly 
controlled investigations of our tobacco experiment sta- 
tions. If, by proper inoculations and maintenance of 
established conditions of moistening witli water, or 
other more suitable liquid, and of temperature, we can 
impart to local tobacco the flavor and aromatic smoke of 
Cuban and other tropical tobaccos, it will be possible to 
dispense with a large part of the present importations 
for fillers. 



CHAPTER VI. 

MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 

It is evident from the preceding chapter that the 
form, quantity and quality in which food is furnished 
the tobacco crop, opens up a vast field of vital impor- 
tance. Yet it is only within very recent years that the 
scientific aspects of the influence of manures and fer- 
tilizers ujsou tobacco have been studied. But as the 
culture of this crop increases, as the area of virgin lands 
contracts, and as competition for fine quality grows, the 
problem of feeding the tobacco plant is bound to com- 
mand increasing attention. We therefore elucidate the 
subject as fully us the present state of knowledge permits. 

Very little has been conclusively demonstrated, as 
yet, by the recently begun work at our southern exper- 
iment stations, and the state of the art of fertilization of 
southern leaf is well described in the chapters on heavy 
leaf and manufacturing tobaccos. The most accurate 
data are those furnished by the experience of the most 
careful planters in the Connecticut valley — some of 
whom deserve high rank for the truly scientific char- 
acter of their work — and by the several years' results of 
the Connecticut (Poquonock) and Pennsylvania exper- 
iment stations' exhaustive tests. From all these sources 
our data are compiled. 

Soil vs. Mami?'es and Fertilizers. — The soil upon 
which tobacco is grown may have as great or greater in- 
fluence upon the leaf as the plant food artificially sup- 
plied. The soils usually preferred for the different 
types of tobacco are considered in later chapters, and it 

105 



106 TOBACCO LEAF. 

must be noted that effect of manures and fertilizers will 
vary on different soils. Indeed, the soil is one of na- 
ture's wonderful laboratories. The actions and reactions 
that are going on in the soil — chemical, bacteriological 
and physical — vary with different localities and seasons. 
No hard and fast rules can be laid down, but each 
l)lanter, who wishes to excel in growing fine tobacco, 
must experiment for himself. Certain general princi- 
ples, however, seem deducible from the extensive studies 
of Mr. Milton Whitney, chief of the division of agricul- 
tural soils. United States department of agriculture, 
as stated in the opening of the chapter on cigar leaf. 

Temperature and Rainfall also prevent exact rules 
in feeding tobacco or other crops. However carefully and 
liberally it is fed will be to little purpose if the weather 
is too cold or dry. Temperature cannot be governed, 
nor can too much rain be avoided, except by drainage, 
but drouth can be insured against. Over a large part of 
this country, tobacco and other crops suffer almost every 
season from drouth. In Florida, and the middle South, 
as well as further north, drouth is liable to occur at 
most critical seasons. The extensive tobacco plantation 
at Fort Meade, Fla., is therefore equipped for irrigation. 
Since such simple methods of supplying water to crops 
have been perfected, tobacco should not be without in- 
surance against drouth. 

Irrigating Tobacco. — Where the hydrant or aque- 
duct service cannot be drawn upon for the supply of 
water, to be conducted through hose to the field, res- 
ervoirs may be made, by scooping a hole in the ground 
on the nearest elevation, and pumping it full of water by 
means of a windmill, gasolene engine, or other form 
of power. The power used for such irrigating plants 
can be employed for many other purposes when not 
needed for pumping water. The supply of water can be 
from brooks, ponds and wells, and the cost will often be 







■i^<^4.. . 



4, 






^'j^'4? 







FKi. 11. IRRIflATINfi TOHArCO, MAKING A MTTLE WATKK MCHSTKN 
MANY KOWS OF PLANTS. 



107 



108 TOBACCO LEAF. 

sur])risiiigly small. 'J.Mie first oiitlit of this character, 
we believe, was set up in Polk county, southern Florida, 
in 1890^ and has produced remarkable results. See 
illustration of it in the description of the Florida tobacco 
industry. 

In irrigating tobacco, great care must be taken not 
to sup})ly too much water at a time. The overplus is 
certain to have a deleterious effect, making the leaf 
darker and heavier, and injuring its burning (pialities as 
well as its flavor and aroma. A small stream run be- 
tween every second row will be better than to run it 
through every row. The more sandy the soil, the 
greater the amount needed, and the more often can 
water be applied, witii less injury to the crop. Irri- 
gation has been so little practiced in this country that 
no special directions can be laid down, but each planter 
must experiment for himself, keeping in mind the pe- 
culiarities of his soil and of the leaf which he is pro- 
ducing. Irrigation is a great aid in getting a good 
"stand" of plants when the ground is dry at trans- 
planting. 

PRINCIPLES OF TOBACCO FEEDING. 

Tobacco has been grown for a great many years ; it 
was grown, and successfully, too, for the market of 
early times, long before the advent of artificial fer- 
tilizers, and when the wliole science of modern ferti- 
lizing was unknown. In those days, of course, the only 
dependence was upon virgin soils, or barn manure, per- 
haps assisted by occasional dressings of wood ashes. 
The quality of the tobacco was then much more gov- 
erned by the natural i)eculiarities of the soil than is now 
the case, for the native food su})ply of the soil was 
drawn upon to supply the elements in which the manure 
was lacking, or which the manure could not supply with 
sufficient rapidity to meet the requirements of the 



MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 



109 



growing crop. Fortunately for the reputation of the 
crop, the market was tlien satisfied with a grade of leaf 
entirely different from that now demanded. The ques- 
tion of quality was, of course, important, but the class 
of goods demanded was not so fine and delicate as is 
now imperative, and what was a fine leaf then could not 
now be profitably raised. 

Now we find that the soil must be made rich in all 
elements demanded by the plant, and these elements 
should be in such a thoroughly soluble and available con- 
dition that the plants can assimilate them without hin- 
drance. The plant is really "forced," Just as market 




FIG. 12. BRUSH AKKANGKI) FOK }{UKNING WHEN I'LANT BED IS TO BE 

MADE. (Tennessee, Kentucky.) 

garden crops are forced, by promoting a luxuriant growth 
through the superabundance of fertility, kept in a state 
of constant availability by thorough cultivation. Tillage 
and fertilizing go hand in hand in the production of 
the crop. 

What not to Use. — It is important to avoid applying 
to the soil substances which might injure any desirable 
quality in the leaf. For instance, it is going too far to 
assert that the use of chlorides invariably produces to- 
bacco of inferior (piality, for occasional experiments 
demonstrate the contrary, but growers will do well to 



110 TOBACCO LEAF. 

avoid the use of chlorides, which, as the experience in all 
countries agrees, are likely as a rule to injure the burn- 
ing quality of the leaf. Chlorides exist as chloride of 
sodium, or common salt and chloride of potash, or 
muriate of potash. Low grade sulphates of potash, 
such as kainit, camallite, krugit, etc., also contain a 
large admixture of common salt, and therefore should 
not be used. 

It has been found that the texture of the leaf, and 
to some extent its burning quality, is frequently injured 
by certain coarse forms of nitrogenous matter, and some 
substances, as castor pomace, are regarded with disfavor 
by manufacturers, some of whom refuse to purchase a 
crop grown on pomace. This is a matter of far less 
consequence than the presence of chlorine, for the del- 
eterious effects of coarse nitrogen compounds can easily 
be eliminated. And castor pomace itself can be, and 
is, used with itertect safety, when it is intelligently 
handled. In fact, this jjomace is a very popular to- 
bacco fertilizer in some sections, and dealers who pro- 
fess to refuse to buy crops grown upon it, nevertheless 
do purchase many a lot so grown, being kept in igno- 
rance of the fact by the grower, and no complaint is 
made when the grower is skillful, and has a reputation 
for producing good tobacco. The Poquonock experi- 
ments certainly indicate castor pomace when it is prop- 
erly used. 

The same objection can be raised against coarse an- 
imal matter, such as green slaughterhouse waste, coarse 
meat scraps, etc. The whole point is, that when such 
matter is applied directly to the land, it should be done 
early in the fall, that the process of violent fermentation 
and putrefaction may pass long before the plants are set. 
Such matter decomposes with an excessive fermentation, 
amounting to a violent putrefaction and, owing to the 
coarse, lumpy form, this excessive fermentation is long 



MANUBES AND FERTILIZERS. Ill 

contmiied, and the nitrogenous matter is not wl)olly 
converted into nitrates, and other forms suitable for 
plant growth, until a long time has elapsed. The early 
stages of this violent decay create a condition in the 
soil that is bad for quality in tobacco, developing a leaf 
with coarse texture, large veins and an excess of woody 
tissue. Wherever possible, all animal and vegetable 
matter should be ground to a fine, dry powder, in which 
form it is much more easily disintegrated and that, too, 
without excessive fermentation. Furthermore, a much 
more even distribution of the fertilizer can be made, 
which insures a thorough fertilizing of the land, avoid- 
ing the liability of omitting parts of the field. 

The trouble with this class of materials is entirely 
in the mechanical condition. Coarse fertilizers are pro- 
verbially slow. The same matter, in a finely divided 
state, can be used with perfect safety. But if, as in 
castor pomace, this is impossible, it should be apjilied so 
long in advance of the crop, that all danger of excessive 
decomposition shall have passed before the plants are set. 
Chlorine in any form should be avoided by the skillful 
grower, and coarse, nitrogenous matter should be used 
with discretion and with an understanding of its dan- 
gers and limitations. These constitute the only forms 
of plant food that are positively dangerous, and that 
should not be used because of the danger. Phosphoric 
acid is not assimilated by the crop to any material ex- 
tent, and its application, in more than very moderate 
quantity, is unnecessary, and therefore wasteful, unless 
the soil is deficient in this element, but its presence does 
not produce any markedly bad results ; it is simply use- 
less to incur the expense of an element that is not re- 
quired. 



113 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



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MANUEES AND FERTILIZERS. 



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114 TOBACCO LEAF. 

WHAT TO USE AND HOW TO APPLY IT. 

[For analysis of manures, manurial substances, etc., used on tobacco, 
consult Table IV, Pages 112 and 113.] 

Mmiure. — In former times, the excrement of do- 
mestic animals was the only plant food at the command 
of the grower ; it was the only dependence, and its nsc 
has not ceased, for it is still largely relied npon, although 
it is now generally used in conjunction with other fer- 
tilizers, as a sort of foundation upon which to buikl. It 
is still one of the most important fertilizing materials at 
the command of the tobacco grower, and it is more 
universally used than any other single substance. It 
is surely entitled to receive the first consideration. But 
it is now applied with an understanding of its deficiencies 
as well as excellences, and often for different purposes 
in a different way than formerly. 

Bm^n Manure is a general term covering tlie mix- 
ture of the excrement of cattle, horses and swine, or 
that of cattle and swine only, or that of cattle only. 
Horse manure, when kept distinct from the general 
mass, is sei)arately classed, and is used for special pur- 
poses. On the ordinary farm, manure is a mixture of 
the excrement of the leading farm animals. There are 
several striking characteristics that are peculiarities of 
barn manure. The most noticeable of these is the large 
quantity of vegetable matter it contains ; and inciden- 
tally the large amount of water. This organic matter is 
the greatest peculiarity of manure, and from it certain 
effects are produced in the soil that cannot be obtained 
from any other fertilizer. Another peculiarity is that 
manure is a complete fertilizer, it contains some of 
every element that is required by growing crops, — ni- 
trogen, phosphoric acid and potash, as the more impor- 
tant plant food elements, as well as lime and magnesia. 
A third peculiarity is the variability of the quantities of 
these food elements, depending upon the classes of 



MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 115 

animals contributing to its formation, — cattle, horses 
and swine, — some one or two of which may be absent ; 
upon the fodder rations employed in feeding the stock ; 
upon tbe export of milk from the farm ; upon the quan- 
tity of foreign matter incorporated as bedding, or ab- 
sorbents ; upon the percentage of the urine and dry 
excrement, and upon the way in which it has been pre- 
served,, whether pro))erly housed, or exposed to the 
leaching of rains and winds. 

The Value of Manure as a fertilizer has been appre- 
ciated for generations. The investigations of science 
have not displaced its standing, or curtailed its use. 
For it is both the cbeapest, and, all things considered, 
the best general manure at hand. It will always be 




FiCx. 13. PLANT BKi) AiiKAN(;Kn TO SHED WATKK (Germany). 

used whenever the soil requires fertilizing, and where 
live stock is kept. It meets the wants of the general 
farmer better than any other fertilizer, and its appli- 
cation is understood, and its general effects are well 
known. 

Tbe feed has a great effect upon the quality of the 
manure. In its passage through the animal, the food 
loses what is taken out by the growtb of the animal and 
by the milk. A good deal of carbonaceous matter, 
which has no fertilizing value, is also burned in the sys- 
tem to supply animal heat, but all the rest of the food 
passes into the dung or urine. The digested food is 
voided in the urine, the undigested in the solid manure. 
Of the two, the urine is the more valuable ; it is also 



116 TOBACCO LEAF. 

more difficult to preserve. Other things being equal, 
the richer the food, the richer the manure. It is calcu- 
lated from Table IV of fertilizer analyses, that a ton of 
average manure contains about 1350 pounds of water, 
475 pounds of organic matter and 175 pounds of ash. 
Tlie latter contains, of potash eleven pounds, phosphoric 
acid eight pounds, lime six pounds, magnesia four 
pounds and the rest is sand, carbonic and sulphuric 
acids, iron, alumina and soda. The organic matter con- 
tains about ten pounds of nitrogen. Manure from 
poorly fed stock, especially if absorbents are not used on 
the manure pile, if exposed to the weather, nuiy not con- 
tain half these quantities. On the other hand, richly fed 
stock, carefully bedded, may yield manure twice as rich 
in plant food as the average just stated. This shows the 
wide variety that may exist in manure. 

Comparing the actual requirements of a crop of to- 
bacco of 1800 pounds cured leaf and stalks, Avith the 
amount of plant food contained in barn manure, it ap- 
pears that 15 tons (or about four cords) of average ma- 
nure contain the 154 pounds of nitrogen I'equired ; 60 
tons, or 15 cords, contain the 488 pounds of potash, 
and four t(ms, or one cord, contain the 2G pounds of 
phosphoric acid. This comparison is for the total crop 
of tobacco, both leaves and stalks, but if the stalks are 
returned to the land on which they were grown, the ap- 
parent amount of manure is much less. To supply the 
80 pounds of nitrogen removed in the leaves only, 10 
tons, or two and one-half cords, of manui-e appear to be 
all that is necessary ; 34 tons, or eight and one-half 
cords, contain the 291 pounds of potash re(juired, while 
two tons, or half a cord, contain the 12 pounds of 
phosplioric acid that is necessary. 

But every tobacco grower knows it is simply impos- 
sible to obtain a crop of 1800 pounds of cured leaf from 
a dressing of only eight and one-half cords of manure, 



MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 



117 



which is tlie largest ({uantity that the figures show is 
necessary. Tlic trouble is, that the fertilizing elements 
of manure are not rapidly set free; their action is 
proverbia !ly slow, and from this slow action comes the 
great '"lasting power" of manure. It is lasting because 
it cannot be quickly used. The availability of the ma- 
nure is increased, but at the loss of considerable of the 
nitrogen, by rotting, especially when assisted by work- 
ing over the 2)ile, breaking up the lumps, and allowing 
the air free access to all parts of the heap. 

But eight and one-half cords of manure, however 
short and well rotted it may be, will not satisfy the re- 




Flf;. 14. wnf)DEN FRAME FOR PLANT P.ED ((ieilTiail). 

quirements of the crop. It is likely that not more than 
thirty per cent of its fertilizing elements can be used by 
tobacco the first year, although this percentage is gov- 
erned considerably by the length of time the manure re- 
mains in the soil before the plants are set, and upon 
temperature and moisture. Yet the longer it thus re- 
mains in the soil, the more likely is the loss of nitrogen 
from evaporation and leaching. This loss is again offset 
by the uniform distribution of what nitrogen is not thus 
lost, and the more available form in which it exists. 

It is, therefore, very difficult to tell how much 
manure to use, if that, alone, is to be depended ujion. 



118 TOBACCO LEAF. 

not because the qtiantity of plant food it contains is 
unknown, but because of the impossibility of determining 
how much of it is available for the demands of the rap- 
idly growing tobacco crop. If all the plant food is not 
consumed the first year, especially the potash and lime, 
it remains in the soil for the use of future crops. 
Owing to the very slow action of manure, and the great 
demands of tobacco, occasioned by the very rapid growth 
of the plant, it is difficult to bring about a satisfactory 
state of fertility from manure alone. And in the great 
majority of instances, manure is no longer expected to 
supply the entire amount of plant food, but is supple- 
mentel by the use of other materials. 

Efict of Manure on Soil. — While manure is thus of 
questionable dependence, alone, for tobacco food, it 
possesses certain valuable qualities arising from the large 
quantity of vegetable matter which it contains. This 
vegetable matter is beneficial m many ways. It supplies 
a stock of v^etable mold, or humus, that is often 
lacking in the light soils on which tobacco is grown. 
This humus absorbs moisture and heat, and retains tht 
nitrates set free in the soiL This valuable adjunct to 
the proper state of fertility, is too often overlooked by 
the advocates of exclusive chemical fertilizers. The 
mechanical effect of manure is also of great consequence, 
as it lightens very iieavy soils by making them open, 
porous and easy of cultivation, while it supplies moisture 
and "body to lands that are naturally of too light a 
nature. 

Manure also promotes a quick fermentation that i- 
congenial to all plants, one of the results of which i^ the 
conversion of nitrogen from a raw state to nitrates that 
are suitable for plant consumption. On this account it 
is used with benefit in conjunction with other nitrogen 
supplies, especially as it also, in a measure, fixes and 
retains this soluble nitrogen and thus prevents waste. 



MANURES AXD FERTILIZERS, 119 

When used with other quick-acting fertilizers, manure 
keeps land in good heart, moist, mellow and friable, and 
in a condition admirably suited to the best develop- 
ment of plant roots. In addition to these peculiarities, 
the plant food which manure contains is of great conse- 
quence, especially as this may come in at the last of the 
season, when the more available plant food of the chem- 
icals may have been consumed- The lasting quality of 
manure, which makes it undesirable as an exclusive 
dependence, becomes a matter of importance when used 
with other quick-actmg fertilizers. For these reasons it 
is important to use a liberal dressing of manure. 

Tlie Besf Time to Apply Manure is in the fall, 
plowing it under slightly, but not too deep. If preferred, 




FIG. Ij. tI_VNT BtLi i'lLAJ^L WIIH tl-OTH COVER PARTLY RE3IuVED. 

the dressing can be applied after plowing, when it 
should be well harrowed in. The rain, snows and frost 
of fall, winter and spring diffuse the fertilizing elements 
evenly through the soil, break down the coarse, woody 
matter of the manure, reducing it to the condition of 
vegetable mold so essential as an absorbent and for its 
powers of fixation of other forms of plant food. From 
eight to ten cords, thirty-five to forty loads, of manure 
should be thus applied when other fertilizers are to fol- 
low. K not done in the fall, it should be applied as 
early as possible in the spring, that the mellowing 
influence of air and moisture may transform it from a 
crude, raw state to one congenial to the most favorable 
plant growth. If coarse^ rank manure is applied late in 



120 TOBACCO LEAF. 

the spring, it is apt to promote a coarse-fibered leaf, 
deficient in elasticity and texture. 

The Amount of Plant Food to Apply depends upon 
soil fertility, variety to be grown and quality and quan- 
tity of leaf desired. The amounts specified in this chapter 
are those used by the best growers in the Connecticut 
valley, on land of fairly good fertility. These men want 
at least a ton of cured leaf per acre, of the finest quality, 
and then have the soil left rich enough to yield two to 
four tons of hay per acre when seeded to grass. Such 
high cultivation is not yet practiced on old soils in other 
tobacco-growing districts of America, while on newer 
lands it is not necessary. As a rule, however, the average 



FIG. 16. MOVABLK FKAME FOli PLANT BED, WITH CLOSE FITTING 
CLOTH COVEK PARTLY REMOVED. 

planter stands more in danger of applying too little 
plant food than too much. On the other hand, the 
Poquonock expei'iments confirm much experience to the 
effect that, under the intense cultivation referred to, 
more plant food is put into the soil than is really 
profitable, 

NITROGEN FERTILIZERS. 

Their Necessity. — It has been shown by analyses of 
the plant, and by experience in the field, that tobacco 
requires a large quantity of nitrogen. It does not seem 
to possess the ability to get its nitrogen from the air, as 



MANURES AND FEKTILIZERS. 



121 



<lo clover and certain leguminous plants. However, 
tobacco must get its nitrogen from the soil. This ele- 
ment must, therefore, be present in sufficient quantity, 
and also in a thoroughly available form, and intimately 
diffused throughout tlie soil, owing to the sliort period in 
which the plant development can be effected. Nitrogen 
is obtained from a number of waste products and chem- 
icals, prominent among which are cottonseed meal, 
castor pomace, linseed meal, tankage, dried fish scrap, 
dried blood, dried animal matter, sulphate of ammonia, 
and nitrate of soda. Many growers use these and other 
chemicals, while others 2)refer the prepared fertilizers of 




I 



FIG. 17. PEKMANENT BED, WITH BOTH GLASS AND CLOTH FRAMES. 

commerce that are rich in available nitrogen, and are pre- 
pared expressly for this crop, 

AvailahiUty. — Tests have been made at tlie Con- 
necticut exi)eriment station to find out the crop-pro- 
ducing power of nitrogen, supplied in various forms. 
This was determined, not by chemical analysis, which 
practically fails to throw much liglit on the subject, but 
by tlie quantity of nitrogen which the crop took from 
the fertilizer. The crops were grown on artificial soil 
that contained only traces of available nitrogen, but all 
the other elements of plant food wore present in excess 
of the crop needs. Of course, a single crop cannot take 



122 TOBACCO LEAF. 

all the nitrogen from the soil, even when it is supplied 
in nitrate of soda, which is the most soluble form, 
because, for one reason, the plant roots do not reach 
every particle of the soil. Still less can one crop take 
all the nitrogen from animal, or vegetable, matters, that 
decompose but slowly in the soil. In any case, there- 
fore, more or less of the nitrogen contained in the fer- 
tilizer fails to enter the crop. The tests were made with 
oats and corn in 147 pots, and resulted for the two years, 
as follows (Johnson, Britton and Jenkins) : 

AVAILABILITY OF DIFFEllENT NITKOGENOUS MANURES. 

Column A shows the per cent of the total nitrogen furnished the 
crops of '94-5 that was available — that is, was actually taken up by 
these crops, the l)alance of the nitrogen being left in the soil. In Col- 
umn n, the amount of available nitrogen in nitrate of soda represents 
100, and the figures beneath show the proportionate availability of 
nitrogen from the other fertilizers. 

Nitrate of soda, 

Castor pomace, No. 4545, 

Av. of castor pomace, Nos. 4545 and 454G, 

Cottonseed meal, 

Castor pomace, No. 454C, 

Linseed meal, 

Dried blood, 

Dried flsh, 

Dissolved leather, * 

Horn and hoof, 

Tankage, 

Steamed leather, 

Roasted leather, 

Raw leather, 

It will be seen that the nitrogen of castor pomace 
No. 4545 has shown the highest availability of any form 
of organic nitrogen. The other sample of pomace con- 
tained more oil, and its nitrogen was not quite as avail- 
able. Cottonseed meal, linseed meal and dried blood 
were about equally available, thus scientifically confirm- 
ing the experience of some of our most careful tobacco 
growers, who have found linseed meal fully as quick act- 
ing and effective as a fertilizer as either cottonseed meal 
or dried blood. Dried fish comes next in order, but it 



A 


B 


G8 


100 


53 


77 


50.5 


74 


49.5 


72 


48 


70 


47 


09 


4C.5 


G8 


45 


G6 


44.5 


64 


42.5 


G2 


40.5 


59 


G.5 


9 


G.5 


9 


1.5 


2 



MANUKES A]SrD FERTILIZERS. 123 

will be surprising to many that tankage, a popular 
nitrogenous fertilizer, gave up only forty per cent of its 
nitrogen to crops in two years, thus standing in avail- 
ability at fifty-nine, compared to nitrate of soda as one 
hundred. 

Ammmiia should not be confused with nitrogen. 
Seventeen parts of ammonia contain fourteen parts of 
nitrogen. Oftentimes manufacturers give the equiv- 
alent proportion of ammonia, instead of the actual 
amount of nitrogen, for the same reason that the term 
phosphate of lime is used — because it looks bigger. 
Expressed in decimals, one part of ammonia contains 
0.8235 of nitrogen. Thus, if a fertilizer contains five per 
cent (or one hundred pounds per ton) of ammonia, the 
nitrogen is only 4.12 per cent, or eighty-two and one- 
third pounds. For quick calculation, ammonia can be 
reckoned to contain four-fifths of nitrogen, and by de- 
ducting one-fifth from the quantity of ammonia, the 
amount of nitrogen actually present will be reached 
quite closely. 

Cottonseed Meal. — Of all the sources of nitrogen, 
the most popular is cottonseed meal. As a concentrated 
food for cattle its value is highly appreciated, and it is 
one of the leading meals for milch cattle. But, apart 
from the tobacco crop, it is not much used as a fertilizer 
at the North. In the southern States cottonseed, fer- 
mented, to destroy the germ, has long been a favorite 
dressing for cotton fields, especially when mixed with 
plain sui^erphosphate and kainit. Of recent years the 
practice of selling the seed to oil mills, and buying back 
the dry meal, has gradually spread, and in sections 
adjacent to railroads in these States, large quantities of 
meal are annually consumed for fertilizing purposes. 

In the preparation of the meal, the cottonseed, 
which is about the size of a coffee bean, is taken as it 
comes from the gin, covered with a short fuzz of cotton 



124 TOBACCO LEAF. 

fiber. In this shape the seed resembles the small cocoons 
in which the larvae of many insects are encased. This 
downy fuzz is removed by macliinery, the lint finding a 
sale for certain industrial purposes. The seed is then 
almost bare. It is next decorticated ; that is, the hard 
flinty shell is split open and then sifted from the pulp. 
The pulp is rich in oil, and the shell contains enough fat 
to make it readily combustible. The shell, or hull, is 
burned for fuel under the engine boilers, sometimes 
being the only fuel, but more often used with wood, and 
occasionally with coal. The resulting ash is called 
cottonhull ash, described under potash fertilizers. The 
pulp of the seed is subjected to heavy j^ressure, which 
expresses the oil, and the dry cake is then ground. Its 
final condition is that of a fine dry powder of an olive or 
yellowish green cast. Occasionally, the hulling process 
is omitted, and the entire seed is crushed and ground, 
the result being undecorticated meal. This product is 
darker than the usual brand, from containing fragments 
of the black hulls. Such meal is inferior to the normal, 
both as a fertilizer and as a fodder. The shells, or hulls, 
are much used in the South for feeding cattle, and though 
it may appear incredible, cattle fed on them are kept in 
good condition. 

Cottonseed meal is admirably suited to fertilizing 
purposes ; it is a fine dry powder, of excellent mechanical 
condition, free from odor, and very easily applied. It 
can be distributed very evenly, which insures a thorough 
distrilnition through the soil, and owing to its fine 
mechanical condition, it is easily disintegrateil. and the 
fertilizing elements soon become aA'ailable. It is not so 
rapid in its effects as the nitrate and ammonia salts, but 
it compares favorably with any animal matter. Chem- 
ically it is quite uniform, as appears from the analyses in 
Table IV, Page 112. A clearer idea of its constituents 
is obtained from the following more complete analysis : 



MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 135 



ANALYSIS OF COTTONSEED MEAL OP^ STANDARD QUALITY. 

Moisture, 10.50 

Orjjanic matter (including 6.72 per cent of nitrogen), 83.67 

Lime, 0.29 

Magnesia, 0.72 

Soda, 0.25 

Potash, 1.83 

Phosphoric acid, 2.35 

Insoluble matter, 0.39 

Total ash, , 5.83 



Of coui'se tliG fertilizing value of cottonseed meal 
depends mainly upon its nitrogen, but potash and phos- 
phoric acid are also important. It is such a popular 
fertilizer and feed that in years of scarcity and high 
prices, cottonseed meal is adulterated by adding rice 
meal, etc., or by grinding the hulls into it. This impure 
meal contains only half or two-thirds as much nitrog- 
enous matter as the pure article, and, if bought at all, 
it should be at a reduction of twenty-five to fifty per 
cent from the price of straight goods. The meal with 
hulls is dark and contains hard, black fragments of hulls. 
As the Connecticut station truly says, "In ordinary 
meal, to use as feed or fertilizer, purchasers should re- 
quire decorticated upland cottonseed meal, containing at 
least six and one-half per cent of nitrogen, unless they are 
willing to use the other greatly inferior meal, which can- 
not be economically done unless it can be got for a 
greatly reduced price." Oftentimes this meal ferments 
and sours, which renders it unfit for cattle food, and it 
is then sold at a less price. This damaged meal is 
almost, if not quite, as good for fertilizing purposes as 
the sweet meal, and a considerable saving in first cost is 
made by using it. 

This meal is snch an excellent cattle food that it is 
almost a waste to use it directly as a fertilizer, especially 
as by far the most of its fertilizing elements are found 
in the manure, after feeding. For general farm pur- 



126 TOBACCO LEAF. 

poses, it is more economical to feed it; but tobacco is an 
exceptional crop, and this meal has been found so con- 
genial to this plant that it cannot be considered wasteful 
to use it directly. And laying aside its feeding value, 
and considering it solely as a fertilizer for direct appli- 
cation, it is one of the most economical fertilizers. 

Cottonseed meal, however, is not a very rapid ferti- 
lizer, and it should be applied as long as possible before 
the setting of the plants, to allow it to decompose. When 
the land has been dressed with ten cords of manure in 
the fall, one thousand pounds of meal should be broad- 
casted after plowing in the spring, and gently harrowed 
in. This should be done a month or six weeks before 
the plants are set, by which time it will be well diffused 
throughout the soil, especially if moist weather has pre- 
vailed. When no manure is used, one ton of meal 
should be applied. Some growers apply it in the fall, 
but this is not a general custom, although it is a good 
plan to follow. At Poquonock, 1500 pounds of cotton- 
seed meal per acre, with 1500 pounds of cottonhull ash, 
made an avei'age crop of 1611 pounds per acre, contain- 
ing 956 pounds wrappers ; when the meal was increased 
to 2500 pounds, the total crop was not much larger, but 
it yielded 1065 pounds wrappers ; and 3000 pounds of 
meal made an average crop of 1835 pounds of cured leaf 
per acre, containing 1226 pounds of wrappers ; the ash 
used was the same in all cases. 

Linseed or' Flaxseed Meal is also a popular ferti- 
lizer in seasons when, because of its abundance, it can be 
sold at as low, or lower, a ])rice as cottonseed meal. It 
is not quite so rich in plant food as cottonseed meal, but 
the difference is slight. The new process linseed meal 
contains only about three per cent of fat or oil, while 
old process contains twice as much. At Poquonock, 
the tests made were with ucav process only, and results 
in quantity and quality of leaf from a moderate applica- 



MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 127 

tion are such that this meal is now largely employed for 
tobacco. About a ton per acre is used, with potash salts 
or ashes. To what extent the increased oil or fat in old 
process meal would injure or benefit leaf tobacco has not 
yet been determined. 

Otlier Meals rich in nitrogen might be used on to- 
bacco when their price permitted, but in the absence of 
experiments to show their effect, they should first be 
tried on a small scale. Gluten meal contains five per 
cent of nitrogen, pea meal three i)er cent, wheat bran 
two to three per cent. 

Castor Pmnace. — This article is used to some extent 
as a tobacco fertilizer, although a prejudice exists 
against it among some cigar manufacturers, as the claim 
is made that the tobacco does not come out of the sweat 
in good shape. This trouble arises from carelessness in 
application, and not from any niherent peculiarity of the 
pomace. The castor bean is grown quite extensively in 
this country. The oil is exjiressed by pressure and the 
crushed beans are known as castor pomace. It is a 
coarse, lumpy material, poisonous as a food, and having 
an offensive odor. Because of its coarse condition, it is 
difficult to spread evenly, and it should always be aji- 
plied in the fall and gently harrowed in. By spring it 
will be brought into a suitable condition for tobacco 
growing. If its application is delayed until spring, this 
process of reduction cannot be accomi)lislied bef(n-e the 
plants are demanding the food. It is, however, used 
with excellent results applied in spring. Its use in a 
fresh, raw state produces bad results, but when applied 
at the proper season very favorable results are derived 
from it. 

Castor pomace is much more difficult to manage 
than cottonseed meal and the latter is rightfully much 
more popular. Castor pomace is liable to vary in compo- 
sition, and should be bought on a guarantee of five or five 



128 ' TOBACCO LEAF. 

and one-fifth per cent nitrogen. The large amount of 
orgiinic matter it contains gives it more value than nitro- 
gen salts, especially for light soils. As it contains about 
one-fourth less nitrogen than cottonseed meal, the ap- 
plication should be correspondingly larger, or 3500 
pounds per acre where no manure is used and 1250 
when used with manure. When manure cannot be ob- 
tained, castor pomace makes a fairly good substitute, — 
perhaps the best the market affords, as its organic mat- 
ter acts similarly to that of manure. At Poquonock, 
leaf grown on this pomace compared favorably in quan- 
tity and quality with crops grown on other fertilizers. 

Tankage is the name applied to the residue of meat 
entrails, fine bone, etc., that settle at the bottom of the 
large tanks in which such refuse is steamed, or rendered, 
for extracting fat. When the percentage of bone runs 
large it is called cracklings. It is a dry powder varying 
considerably in mechanical condition, the meat generally 
being in a very finely pulverized condition, while much 
of the bone is considerably coarser. Fertilizer manufac- 
turers use this material quite largely, and they generally 
make a distinction between beef and pork tankage. The 
latter contains considerable fat, which retards decom- 
position, and it is held in less esteem than beef tankage, 
which is almost entirely free from fat. This distinction 
is not understood by farmers and they are probably sup- 
plied with the less marketable pork tankage. 

The quantity of water in tankage varies consid- 
erably, ranging from ten to thirty per cent, and the 
amount of bone also varies. Of course the larger the 
percentage of water, the smaller is the percentage of 
nitrogen ; when bone is largely present the nitrogen runs 
low. It is generally sold on a guaranteed analysis, how- 
ever, and the price varies according to the contents. 
The average amount of water is twelve per cent ; nitro- 
gen ranges from four to eight per cent, averaging about 



MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 129 

six per cent, while phosphoric acid ranges from seven to 
eigliteen per cent, averaging eleven per cent. It is cus- 
tomary to sell the phosphoric acid as bone phosphate of 
lime, which runs much larger than the actual phosphoric 
acid, and farmers often confuse the term, thinking they 
are the same. Phosphoric acid is combined with lime 
in the ratio of one to 2.183; that is, one per cent of 
phosphoric acid is equivalent to 2.183 of bone phos- 
phate of lime. And when tankage contains eleven per 
cent of phosjihoric acid it contains twenty-four per cent 
of bone phosphate. The term phosphate of lime looks 
big and is often used by manufacturers to desci'ibe the 
phosphoric acid present in commercial fertilizers, thereby 
conveying the impression that a much larger quantity of 
phosphoric acid is contained than is actually present. 
It is one of the "tricks of the trade." A similar con- 
fusion exists between nitrogen and ammonia, as explained 
on Page 123. 

When tankage runs largely to bone, there is little 
difference between it and ordinary bone meal. For to- 
bacco, the presence of bone in tankage is of little ad- 
vantage, since the crop requires but a small quantity of 
that element. In selecting tankage for this crop, care 
should be taken to choose that which runs high in 
nitrogen and low in phosphate. The presence of the 
bone increases the selling price, especially when a fair 
proportion of nitrogen is present, so that tunkage cannot 
be considered an economical nitrogen supply, since it 
requires the purchase of a large quantity of unnecessary 
bone. For other crops, however, where phosphoric acid 
is needed, if is a good purchase, — a better one than l)one. 

The meat of tankage is in a very fine state and is 
easily disintegrated in the soil. It has been supposed 
to be more I'eadily available for plant food than the 
organic matter of cottonseed meal and castor pomace, 
as animal matter appears to ferment and disintegrate 
9 



130 TOBACCO LEAF. 

more quickly than vegetable matter, but this is now 
doubted. Tankage should be applied broadcast in the 
spring and harrowed in. Tankage and all animal 
fertihzers give the best results wlien used with manure, 
for the latter is rich in organic matter while meat is 
deficient in it. 

Dried Blood. — A better article than tankage, be- 
cause of its more uniform analysis, is dried blood. There 
are several grades of blood, since it is often mixed with 
tankage, when it is called blood and meat, but in the 
wholesale fertilizer trade, there arc but two grades, the 
soft red blood and black blood. Both of these products 
arise from the coagulation of liquid blood by steam 
Under this heat the solid portion settles and the liquid 
is drawn off. The residue is then dried. If too much 
heat is used in drying, the blood solidifies into a solid 
black mass, hard and brittle. This, Avhen ground, 
separates into small, black, glittering particles, having 
a gritty feeling, aud constitutes the black blood of com- 
merce. A lesser application of heat prevents the melt- 
ing of the blood, and it comes out as a red powder, soft 
to the touch. It is difficult to dry this blood success- 
fully, and dried meat or tankage is frequently added to 
facilitate the drying, which makes the blood and meat 
so generally sold, and which more properly should be 
classed as tankage. 

Black and red blood differ materially in their action. 
The latter has acquired quite an insoluble condition that 
detracts from its agricultural value. It runs from 
twelve and one-half to fourteen and one-half i)er cent of 
nitrogen. Red blood contains less, only about ten per 
cent or eleven per cent of nitrogen, but it is a beautiful 
nitrogen preparation and admirably suited for fertilizing 
purposes, being soluble, while not too much so. It is, 
undoubtedly, the best animal ammoniate. Unfor- 
tunately, however, it rarely gets into farmers' hands, for 



MANUEES AND FERTILIZERS. 131 

fertilizer manufacturers appreciate its value and take all 
that is produced. It is sold in the trade by the unit of 
ammonia. A unit is one per cent. When ammonia is 
worth $2. 75 per unit, the price of blood analyzing 12 per 
cent ammonia is 12 times $2.75, or $33 per ton. 

Dried Fish. — The leading animal ammoniate, the 
one most largely used by both manufacturers and 
farmers, is dried fish. This is obtained in very large 
quantities from the menhaden oil factories along the 
Atlantic coast. The menhaden, or " porgies " are caught 
for oil. They are steamed in large vats until reduced to 
a churn, and when this is settled the oil and water is 
drawn off and the churn is heavily pressed, to express all 
remaining oil. It is then called wet scrap and contains 
about 50 per cent of water. This is then dried, gener- 
ally by the sun, the result being dry scrap. This con- 
tains about 10 or 12 per cent of water and from 8 to 9 
per cent of nitrogen, or about 10 per cent of ammonia. 
It also contains about 8 per cent of phosphoric acid. 
The percentage of nitrogen varies according to the quan- 
tity of water contained in the scrap, which is sometimes 
quite large, even as much as 20 per cent in dry scrap. 
This variation is caused by defective drying, the effect- 
iveness of which is largely governed by the weather. In 
some cases scrap is dried artificially, but this is not very 
general. 

Dry scrap is sifted to make it uniform, and the 
result is a light, dry powder, having flaky particles. 
The finest dust is called fish guano. This runs some- 
what higher in nitrogen and is more valuable, because 
its fine mechanical condition renders decomposition in 
the soil very easy. Fish is classed under four heads, 
wet scrap, dry scrap, fish guano and ground fish ; the 
distinction between the last two being slight and diffi- 
cult to determine. The supply of scrap varies from 
year to year, according to the quantities caught ; some 



L32 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



seasons the fisli are very j)lenty, while in others they are 
scarce. In recent years, manufacturers have become 
rather more independent of tlie fish catch, owing to the 
increased consumption of nitrate of soda. While men- 
haden is by far the leading source of fisli scrap, there 
are some fish preparations from the cod fisheries and 
from the sardine or herring fisheries. The supply from 
these sources is comparatively small, and they are not so 
well prepared for fertilizing pur- 
posts. Pure dry fish scrap is an 
excellent source of nitrogen. 
Its best results are obtained on 
rather light land, as the more 
compact nature of heavy soils, 
together with the larger quan- 
tity of water contained in such, 
apparently retards the disinte- 
gration of the scrap. It should 





FIG. 1R. a SHOWS VMKTHOB OF KIXTXU THK CLOTH SO IT WILL LAST 
FOR YEARS; b, ITS APPLICATION TO THE PLANT BED. 

not be used in the hill, but broadcast only. It is less 
to be desired than dried blood, but it is far more easily 
obtained in the market, and it gives excellent results. 
Care should be taken to distribute it evenly, for if it 
accumulates in spots, an excessive fermentation results 
that is distributed to growing plants. Six hundred 
pounds of scrap can lie used in place of 1,000 pounds of 
cottonseed meal, or 1250 pounds of castor pomace. As 



MANUKES AND FERTILIZERS. 133 

111 the case of tankaye, it is best when applied with 
manure, because of its lack of organic matter. It need 
not be applied in the fall, for if broadcasted and har- 
rowed in when the ground is being prepared in the early 
spring, it will become available for the crop by the 
time the plants are set. 

Other NUrofjenous Suhstances. — In addition to these 
ilesh preparations, there are others known as azontine, 
ammonite, etc. These are simply preparations of dried 
meat, but are of higher grade than tankage and are 
more uniform in composition. They can be classified 
with dried blood and similarly handled. 

NITROGEN SALTS. 

Beside the organic nitrogen supplies, both animal 
and vegetable, described in the j^^'cvious pages, an 
entirely different class exists, known as "salts." These 
salts are crystallized salts of nitric acid ov ammonia. 
They are perfectly soluble in water, and the nitrogen is 
in an immediately available condition. Tliey contain 
no organic matter of any kind, but are practically pure 
chemicals. They are held in very high esteem for all 
crops, and are of special value for tobacco, but to obtain 
the best results they should be used on soils naturally 
rich in organic matter, or made so artificially by the use 
of manure, castor pomace, muck, or comj)ost. 

There is nothing gained in applying these chemicals 
much in advance of the crop, for they are perfectly 
available as plant food whenever applied. In this they 
differ from all the fertilizing materials previously con- 
sidered. The nitrogen in all animal and vegetable mat- 
ter is partly inert and cannot be set free until such 
matter is disintegrated by fermentation. All these or- 
ganic matters, therefore, require time, in which this 
fermentation may go on, before the nitrogen contained 
in them can be utilized by the plant. But experience 



134 TOBACCO LEAF. 

shows tliat, applied as previously directed, these organic 
manures give up nitrogen to the crop as it can be used. 
The value of nitrates is modified because nitrogen in 
this very soluble form is so exposed to leaching. Jenkins 
has "seen a heavy rain leach away the whole nitrogen 
supply of a crop where it was in the form of nitrates." 
It could not do this with organic forms. 

The consumption of these nitrogen salts, especially 
of nitrate of soda, is steadily increasing. There are 
three of these crystalline salts : Nitrate of potash, which 
is made by the union of nitric acid and potash ; sulphate 
of ammonia, which is sulphuric acid combined with 
ammonia, and nitrate of soda, a combination of nitric 
acid and soda. Of these, the first, nitrate of potash, is 
rarely used as a fertilizer. It is largely used in the 
manufacture of gun powder, and commands such a price 
as to prevent its use for fertilizing purposes. It would 
seem to be admirably adapted to tobacco culture, owing 
to its large percentage of both nitrogen and potash, 
elements especially demanded by this crop, and it should 
be tried experimentally. Nitrate of potash contains 
about 14 per cent of nitrogen and 45 per cent of actual 
potash. 

Sulphate of Ammonia. — This valuable salt is ob- 
tained in large quantities as a by-product in the man- 
ufacture of illuminating gas. It is a white crystalline 
salt having a slightly bluish tinge and may have a faint 
odor of ammonia, but it usually is odorless. Its value 
as an agricultural salt has long been known, and it is 
largely used for manurial purposes, both in this country 
and Europe. It is very uniform in composition, and is 
sold under a guaranteed analysis of twenty-four to 
twenty-five per cent of ammonia, which is the same as 
twenty to twenty and one-half per cent of nitrogen. 
The percentage of free water is very small, rarely over 
one per cent. It is freely soluble in water, and the 



MASrUBES AKD FERTILIZERS. 135 

liquid sulphate of ammonia is freely separated into com- 
pounds available for plant food. It is one of the quickest 
ammoniates in its effects and is highly prized for its 
great forcing power. It is especially valuable for hasten- 
ing the crop if for any reason it becomes retarded. 

Owing to its very soluble condition, sulphate of am- 
monia should be applied Just before setting the plants, 
at the time of the last harrowing. If applied earlier 
there is a possibility of loss through leaching, especially 
on light soils. Two hundred and fifty pounds per acre 
takes the place of 1,000 pounds of cottonseed meal or 
of 600 pounds of dry fish scrap. The better way to use 
it is to apply in conjunction with manure, although on 
any but very light soils it will produce favorable results 
alone, until the soil becomes depleted of organic matter 
through continuous cultivation. The best results are 
obtained by using a small quantity of sulphate of am- 
monia with manure and organic ammoniates, for the 
ammonia salt gives a quick start to the young plants, 
while the nitrogen from the other materials comes in 
for the later development of the crop. Sulphate of 
ammonia contains a large quantity of sul^ohuric acid, 
which is a decided objection, and the results of its use in 
Connecticut are such as to make it unpopular with the 
best growers. Care is necessary that the rootlets do not 
come into too close contact with it. 

Nitrate of Soda. — Much that has been said of sul- 
phate of ammonia applies with equal force to this salt, 
which is preferred to the sulphate because free of sul- 
phuric acid. It is perfectly soluble and should be ap- 
plied in the manner indicated for ammonia, and treated 
in all respects the same. It is a crystalline salt of some- 
what pinkish cast, slightly deliquescent (capable of 
absorbing moisture), and is imported in enormous quan- 
tities for manui'ial purposes, as well as for other indus- 
trial uses. It exists in large beds in certain provinces of 



136 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Chili, and is often called Chili saltpeter. It is clarified 
before shipment, and is very uniform in composition, 
containing about sixteen per cent of nitrogen. It is a 
combination of nitric acid with soda. 

The use of nitrate of soda upon tobacco has not 
become general as yet, and possibly its large percentage 
of soda may liave some qualifying influence on the crop ; 
more extended experiments are necessary to determine 
this point. A small quantity of it, however, can be used 
with safety, and, like sulphate of ammonia, it has great 
value in giving the young plants a vigorous growth. It 
has been customary to apply half the nitrate at time of 
planting, or at first cultivating, and the balance at sec- 
ond cultivating. At Poquonock the application all at 
once, between rows, at first cultivating, gave best 
results. 

POTASH FERTILIZATJON. 

The Necessity of Potash cannot be too strongly 
reiterated. We have shown in ('hai)ter V that tobacco 
draws more heavily upon the soil's potash than upon any 
other single 'element. It also requires a larger amount 
of potash than does any other crop. Tobacco is a potash 
feeder to a remarkable extent. It is equally important 
to note that analyses of soils and practical experience 
unite in proving that in many localities where tobacco is 
grown, the land is deficient in potash. This is quite 
generally true of all tobacco lands that have not been 
well manured. It is also true of many other soils. 
Every farmer can readily test his own soil for potash, by 
planting tobacco or potatoes in plots without any 
potash, and with potash in varying quantities, moderate 
amounts of nitrogen and phosphoric acid being fur- 
nished in all the plots. If it appears that the absence of 
jjotash reduces the crop, and that its presence increases 
the yield, the imperative necessity of potash is proved. 



MANURES AKD FEKTILIZERS. 13'f 

The table of niaiiurial analyses in Appendix shows 
how deficient ordinary stable manure is in potash, and 
how few substances furnish it in liberal proportion. 
Thus the deficiency of potash, both in the soil and in 
ordinary manurial substances, must be made good. But 
while jiotash is of paramount importance to the tobacco 
plant, gi'cat care must be exercised to exclude all con- 
tamination with chlorine. Potash combines freely with 
chlorine, and in the muriate of potash is wholly present ; 
common salt (chloride of soda) is also frequently found 
in many potash salts. But the demand for a potash salt 
free from this defect has caused the introduction of high 
grade sulphates that are practically free from chlorine. 

Potash Salts are obtained from the ])otasIi mines at 
Stassfurt, Germany, and are largely used for manurial 
purposes, both in Europe and this country. The native 
salt is a mixture of sulphate and muriate of potash with 
common salt, and is clarified after mining. Kainit, tlie 
lowest grade sulphate, contains 25 per cent of sulphate 
of potash (equal to 13 per cent actual potash), and 60 
per cent of common salt, and should never be used for 
tobacco because of tins last defect. Muriate of potash, 
80 per cent purity, contains 50 per cent actual potash, 
and about 15 per cent common salt, and for this last 
reason is eschewed by tobacco growers. The first salt 
satisfactory for tobacco culture was the double sulphate 
of potash and magnesia, or double-manure-salt, and it 
is still used with good results. As its name implies, 
the sulphuric acid is combined with potash and mag- 
nesia, and also with soda to some extent ; its analysis 
is given in Table IV, Page 113. But it contains so 
much chlorine that it is not now approved for fine 
wrappers, and the Poquonock results are against it. 
Whether its magnesia is of much use is also a question. 
Double manure salt is usually sold on a guarantee of 
48 to 50 per cent sulphate of potash (equal to about 35 



138 TOBACCO LEAF. 

per cent actual potash), and lately the further guarantee 
"less than two and one-half percent chlorine" is also 
given. 

The high grade sulphate now imported is more 
desirable, since it contains no chlorine at all, is more 
concentrated and, moreover, comes in a fine, mealy con- 
dition. It is guaranteed to contain from 96 to 98 per 
cent sulpliate of potash. This is equivalent to 50 or 51 
per cent actual potash, or just about the same as is 
found in muriate of potash of 80 per cent muriate. 
The two to four per cent of other matter in this high 
grade sulphate is mainly composed of water. This is 
an admirable salt for the tobacco crop and should be 
used extensively. 

How to Aj^ply Potash Salts. — In Germany the usual 
custom is to apply potash salts in the fall upon all but 
very light land. In this country, spring applications are 
exclusively followed, and as no great additional benefit 
can be expected from fall applications, the present cus- 
tom will probably continue. To raise a first-class crop 
of tobacco there should be at least 300 pounds of actual 
potash in the soil available for plant use. To furnish 
this it is necessary to apply 500 pounds of higli grade 
sulphate, or 1000 pounds of double! sulphate, per acre. 
In addition to this is the potash obtained from cotton- 
seed meal, manure, stems or other articles. The same 
rule advanced in applying nitrogen, — the necessity of a 
much larger supply than the plant actually requires, — 
holds good in furnishing potash, though in a less degree. 
Potash does not leach, and what is applied remains 
permanently in the soil, but the trouble is that it is 
often too permanent. It has a tendency to form insol- 
uble compounds, and when these are formed a certain 
per cent of potash becomes locked up and lost to the 
plant. Potash, however, has no forcing effect, and the 
only reason for an excess is to avoid the possibility of a 



MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 



139 



deficiency, either from uneven distribution or from the 
formation of insoluble compounds. The salts should be 
applied broadcast, in the spring, at the time of the first 
harrowing. 

Cottonhnll Ash is extremely popular as a fertilizer, 
especially with scientific growers of prime tobacco for 
cigar wrappers. This is mainly due to the large quan- 
tity of potash the ash contains, and also to the fact that 
this potash is soluble. It also contains a goodly amount 
of magnesia, as well as lime and phosphoric acid ; the 
two former elements being as essential for this crop as 
is the potash or the phosphoric acid. It is quite prob- 
able, too, that the soluble carbolic acid in cottonhull ash 
adds to its excellent effect on the soil. The following 
are complete analyses of a fair average sample of cotton- 
hull ash, made by Jenkins at Connecticut station, and 
by Goessman at Massachusetts station : 





Connecticut. 


Mass. 




Sol. in 


Insol. in 


Total. 






water. 


water. 




Potash, 


25.20 


2.65 


27.85 


28.2 


Soda, 


..50 


.80 


1.30 


? 


Lime, 


none 


5.23 


5.23 


10.5 


Majtiiesia, 


.20 


11.04 


11.24 


15.3 


Oxide of iron and alumina, 


none 


1.64 


1.64 


?» 


Pliosplioric acid, 


1..52 


8.29 


9.81 


8.1 


Sulplmric acid, 


2.32 


0.09 


2.41 


9 


€.irl)i)nic acid. 


8.28 


3.31 


11 ..59 


? 


Clilorine, 


.21 


none 


.21 


? 


Silica and sjiiid, 


.16 


9.34 


9.50 


10.6 


Wat.er and charcoal, 






19.22 


17.2 




38.39 


42.39 


100.00 





Cottonhull ash varies widely in composition. Dif- 
ferent samples contain from 10 to 40 per cent potash, 
average 23 per cent ; phosphoric acid 3 to 14 per cent, 
average 8 per cent. Hence, this ash should only be 
bought on a guaranteed analysis, and at a price that 
will make the actual potash cost only four to six cents 
per pound. The wide variation is due to the careless- 
ness with which the hulls are burned in Southern mills. 



140 TOBACCO LEAF. 

being mixed with wood or coal. When screened and 
free from excessive moistnre, the analysis is not liable to 
be mnch below the average stated. The fact that skil- 
ful Connecticut valley tobacco farmers continue to pur- 
chase this article in increasing quantities year after year, 
at from $35 to $35 a ton, is good evidence that a fair 
equivalent for the money is received. 

A better idea of the peculiar composition of cotton- 
hnll ashes can be obtained, by comparing them witli the 
analysis of wood ashes, given in the next line above it 
(Table IV, Page 112). Average cottonhnll ash contains 
neaily 35 per cent of potash and about 8 per cent of 
lime. In wood ashes this condition is nearly reversed, 
the lime being 33 per cent, while the potash is 5 per 
cent. To furnish as much potash in the form of wood 
iishes as is obtained in an average ton of cottonhnll ash, 
five tons of wood ashes would be necessary, which, at 
$11 to $15 per ton, makes a total cost of $60 to $75, or 
double the cost of cottonhnll ash. The quantity of 
phosplioric acid obtained from cottonhnll ash is also 
four times as much as from wood ashes— as lime is a 
very cheap article, costing about $13 j^er ton, it is econ- 
omy to purchase the cottonhnll ash and supply the de- 
ficiency of lime, than to use wood ashes. These facts 
have been determined by experience as well as analysis, 
and the custom of applying cottonhnll ash and lime to 
tol)acco lands is quite general wherever this ash is exten- 
sively used, oyster shell lime being preferred. 

Another Objection to Wood Ashes is the great bulk 
of matter that must be handled if they alone are used as 
a potash supply. There is, however, some compensa- 
tion in the large quantity of lime obtained, and wood 
ashes can be used in part on tobacco lands. The 
reasonable price of cottonhnll ash has prevented any ex- 
tensive use of wood ashes, and the latter can only be 
regarded by the tobacco grower as a source of lime so 



MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 141 

long as cottonluiU ash can be obtained in the present 
quantities. Cottonhull ash is applied broadcast in the 
spring at the time of first harrowing, at the rate of 750 
to 1000 i^onnds per acre. As the ash is generally con- 
sidered to contain about 25 per cent of potash, 750 
pounds gives about 187 pounds of potash, and 1000 
pounds of ash about 250 pounds of potash. 

As the fine quality of the present sulphate of potash 
salts becomes more generally appreciated, there is a tend- 
ency to use them instead of cottonhull ash, the only 
reason for the abandonment of the latter being the un- 
certainty of comjiosition. This ash, liowever, is yet the 
most popular potash supply, and it will long continue 
to be so because the potash in it exists as the carbonate 
of potash, which is by far the best form. Carbonate of 
potash exerts a powerful influence on the soil through 
its caustic properties, and this gives it a greater value 
than an equal amount in the form of sulphate of potash. 
Another important point is the entire absence of chlorine 
in cottonhull ash.- 

OTHER MANURIAL SUBSTANCES. 

Tobacco Stems supply both nitrogen and potash. 
These stems must not be confused with tobacco stalks. 
Stems are tlie midribs of the leaf tiiat are discarded 
when the leaf is cut into wrappers, or stemmed for the 
English markets. They are largely employed in ferti- 
lizing tobacco fields, and at one time the demand for 
this pur^iose was very strong. Stems vary considerably 
in analysis, according to the quantity of sand and water 
present ; but they are usually a good purchase at 110 per 
ton, but during the boom, prior to the panic of '73, they 
sold as high as $35 a ton. Kentucky stems contain 
about 25 per cent water, organic and volatile matter C2 
per cent (including nif^rogen 1.<S per cent), and mineral 
matter 13 per cent, of which about 8 per cent is potash 



l-4'-i TOBACCO LEAF. 

and 1 por oonf phosphoric acid. Secdlcaf stems are 
usually drier, ooutaiiiinu: about the same quantity of ni- 
trogen and phosphoric acid, but one-fourtli less potash. 
As with all coarse material, stems should be applied very 
early in (he sjiring. and the better }>lan is to i>lo\v them 
under in the fall. They suj>ply both nitrogen and pot- 
ash, and are well suited to the tobacco crop. They are 
so }iopular in the Connecticut valley that all the stems 
available liave been used, and before the season for sell- 
ing closed (about June 10), each year has found the 
dealers with their stocks exhausted and their late orders 
untilled, from 3000 to oOOO tons of stems being used 
annually. 

Lime is used to a considerable extent upon tobacco 
lands iu the seedleaf districts, and its effect is somewhat 
peculiar and not wlioUy in the way of a food element. 
Tobacco ash contains a large percentage of lime, but on 
some lands sufficient is present in the soil to meet the 
demands of the crop. But the opinion is growing that 
a sutliciency of lime is more often lacking in the soil 
used for tobacco than is usually sui)]iosed. Lime is con- 
stantly leaching from the upper layers into the lower 
strata of soil. All saline manures make it leach further. 
Tobacco, as well as other ])lants, ]>ossesses the power of 
substitution, and where lime is abundantly present and 
potaiih is lacking, a larger quantity of lime is consumed 
than would otherwise be the case. It is, therefore, well 
to have a fair (juantity of lime present, more, even, than 
is usually founel in the soil. 

The most important action of lime, however, is not 
that of a plant food, but rather that of a mechanical 
agent. It promotes nitrification, or the conversion of 
crude animal and vegetable matter into nitrates. It 
destroys woody tissue, aud when used iu excess, burns 
out the vegetable matter present in the soil, impairing 
its future value. A little of this burning effect is valu- 



MAirUBBS AlTD FEBTILIZEBS. 14':? 

able, einoe bj it latent jilaut food ij; made; ny'MhJtAe, bat 
lime «bould not be tij>ed on light landj; uiilhm pknty of 
Tc^eUible matter a)*o is present. Lime correct* tbe 
acidity of soilg by combining with any exce»« of 2M:;id«; 
tliat may be present. It aljso, t<» »^>rn*; tixiAHii, iifiUt v:^)'- 
the mineral element* and sets fr(* jmjU^Ii that w. 
not oilu^rvijiii be avaiiable. 

Another characteristic of lime i« that it imj^rove* 
the texture of both light and heavy i$oil, bat in entirely 
different wave. It binds together the loose ysariialtB of 
light goilft, making them more compact, increasing their 
capacity to aW>rb and retain moiistare, thu* correc : 
the waste features of srtich land On heavy, ^pef;ja;r. 
on clay, ©oils, it ha>; an entirely different effect, a>; it 
OTerc^mes tfje teniicious nature of the land, caueing the 
jiarticleg to fa]] aj/art, tha« promoting ea«e of cultrration 
and the bett-er deveJopmient of plaiit ioat«. On cold, 
wci lands it improres tbe meehaoical oonditiOD of tbe 
ioil bf making it lighter. It also eon«ets the aeidity 
luaallj premnai in wet soali, promotes mtrificaii/zn, and 
giref it life and eaergj, Ahmtet aaj toil thai beecmei 
hard and ootopact eauHie improved bj a moderate use o< 
lime. On UAtaceo lands it is not oied now as nraeh at 
in former jean, ahhou^ it is resorted to wfaenev^ the 
nudhanieal condition of the soil v^ipanut it 

Horn to Apply TAme. — ^The power of Hme to UYtendt 
donaaMii fdant food u r^y great' and fnDj ondEsztood, 
and where land has be»i hearilj drenxd with manore^ 
£»r a nnmbn' of jeaim, an afr^ication of Hme pntdutut^ 
TCTf favorable reenlts. On this aenrant it was formerly 
the costom to make qnite a heavj af^ieatioo at inter- 
Tab of three cv* foor jean, bat H is now b^iered that 
small, annual ^^^ications are hetttr. On the geoeiaJ 
nm of lands, $00 pounds is ample, and more often one 
cask per aere is nsed Sova Seuiaa lime, soch as is naed 
for bonding porposes, is the best Some advocate the 



14:4 TOBACCO LEAF. 

use of air-slaked lime only, while others prefer to apply 
it in a more caustic state. 

A favorite way is to dump the contents of a cask on 
the plowed field, leaving it a few days to slake by the 
influence of the moisture of the air and the soil ; if then 
it is lumpy, sufficient water is added to reduce it to a 
fine, dry powder, care being taken that it does not be- 
come pasty. It is then scattered broadcast over the 
field, after the manure has been applied. 

As in the case of manure, the best time to apply it 
is in the fall, or if not done then, very early in the 
spring. It absorbs the excessive water in the land, and 
also assists in reducing coarse manure to the more con- 
genial form of vegetable mold. Lime exists in large 
quantities in wood ashes, and to a smaller extent in cot- 
tonhull ash, and some of the beneficial action of wood 
ashes results from the lime. In leached ashes, which 
are highly prized in some sections for grass lands, lime 
is very abundant, and the effect produced is almost en- 
tirely from tlie lime. Where it can be cheaply bought, 
oyster-shell lime is particularly prized because of its fine 
mechanical condition, and its use is on the increase. 

Sulphate of Lime, gypsiim or plaster, is used to 
some extent on tobacco, and at one time was highly 
recommended. While the plants have the power of 
obtaining lime from the plaster to some extent, its prin- 
cipal function is that of an absorbent only. It takes up 
water greedily, and has an affinity for ammonia, but 
whether sufficient to prevent in part the liability of loss 
of nitrogen by le;:ching is not demonsti'ated. Suljihate 
of lime also has some influence upon the potash com- 
pounds of the soil, setting the potash free from inert 
combinations. For these reasons, about five hundred 
pounds ]ter acre have been used on light lands, esi)ecially 
where a large quantity of organic matter is present. 
But in the absence of tests to determine its value, the 



MANUEES AND FERTILIZERS. 145 

use of gypsum on tobacco land is not to be recommended, 
for it is not yet shown to possess any advantages over 
lime alone, while it may be objectionable. 

FERTILIZER FORMULAS. 

From the previous pages it appears that a wide 
range of materials can be used for fertilizing tobacco 
lands. And if one material should be difficult to obtain, 
another can be substituted. Of course, the greatest 
variety is in the nitrogenous compounds, as the materi- 
als are animal, vegetable and purely chemical. The 
sources of potash are confined to two materials, ashes 
and salts. To summarize the facts given in the forego- 
ing pages, the best plan will be to give formulas, or 
methods of mixing. It should be emphasized, however, 
that barn manure should be used with these formulas to 
as large an extent as possible. All the following formu- 
las are based on a previous application of eight to ten 
cords of manure per acre, or three tons of tobacco stems, 
and each one has been widely used. While the use of 
cottonseed meal is very general and has given good re- 
sults, it can be replaced with other aramoniates in case 
meal cannot be obtained, and, in fact, it would probably 
be an improvement to use other ammoniates in conjunc- 
tion with the meal. A mixed nitrogen-supply gives 
better results, as a rule, than when a single material 
only is used, for if the action of one is hindered, or too 
rapid, the others correct this defect. This is the rule 
used in compounding commercial fertilizers. 

No. 1. Composed of Containing 

2000 lbs. Cottonseed meal, ^ ■»,.,. -.oniv, 

1000 lbs. cottonhull ash, I S'*3f' i'.,^^i^^- 

500 lbs. lime, ^ Potash, 230 lbs. ^ 

500 lbs. plaster, J Phosphoric acui, 126 lbs. 

The essential elements are derived from the meal 

and ash ; the plaster and lime only being supplied to 

affect the soil mechanically and to assist the burning 

qualities of the tobacco. Linseed meal is used instead 

10 



146 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



of cottonseed when it can be bought to better advantage. 
This formula has also been modified by omitting the 
lime and plaster, adding more ash or meal, and some- 
times by adding small quantities of superphosphates, or 
tankage. It is also used in the folloAving combinations : 

Containing 



No. 2. Composed of 

1000 lbs. cottonseed meal, 

1250 lbs. castor pomace, 

500 lbs. cottonliull ash, 

500 lbs. double sulphate of potash, 

500 lbs. lime, 

500 lbs. plaster, 

No. 3. Composed of 

1000 lbs. cottonseed meal, 

600 lbs. dry fish scrap, 

500 lbs. 96 per cent sulphate potash, 

500 lbs. lime, 

500 lbs. plaster. 

No. 4. Composed of 

1000 lbs. castor pomace, 

500 lbs. dry fish scrap, 

100 lbs. sulphate of ammonia, 

500 lbs. 96 per cent sulphate potash. 

No. 5. On old tobacco fiehls that are in good heart, a favorite for- 
mula at present is 2000 lbs. cottonseed meal and 1000 lbs. cottonhull 
ash. 

No. 6. One well-known tobacco grower says: "IMy formula for a 
homemade tobacco fertilizer is 2000 lbs. cottonseed meal, 1000 lbs. 
double sulphate of potash, 1000 lbs. plaster and 1000 lbs. lime, and it is 
the best and cheapest fertilizer for tobacco 1 have ever tried." 

No. 7. Another applies 10 cords of manure per acre, from 1000 to 
2000 lbs. cottonseed meal, and 400 to 500 lbs. Peruvian guano. 

No. 8. A formula iised by several successful growers is for one 
acre of land that has a good supply of manure or vegetable matter in 
the soil : 



Nitrogen, 128 lbs. 
Phosphoric acid, 45 lbs. 
Potash, 288 lbs. 



Containing 

Nitrogen, 116 lbs. 
Phosphoric acid, 60 lbs. 
Potash, 267 lbs. 

Containing 

Nitrogen, 113 lbs. 
Phosphoric acid, 60 lbs. 
Potash, 267 lbs. 



Composed of 
300 lbs. lime, or about 1 cask, 
400 lbs. sulphate of potash, 
500 lbs. pure bone meal, 
2000 lbs. cottonseed meal, 



Containing 

Nitrogen, 166 lbs. 
Phosphoric acid, 140 lbs. 
Potash, 234 lbs. 



Containing 

Nitrogen, 97 lbs. 
Phosphoric acid, 150 lbs. 
Potash, 400 lbs. 



No. 9. Another favorite formula is 
Composed of 
1500 lbs. cottonseed meal, 
1500 lbs. cottonhull ash, 
500 lbs. lime, 
500 lbs. plaster, 

No. 10. A homemade tobacco fertilizer that gave good satisfaction: 
Composed of Containing 

2000 lbs. cottonseed meal, ) Nitrogen, 152 lbs. 
1000 lbs. cottonhull ash, > Phosphoric acid, 164 lbs. 

1000 lbs. lime, ) Potash, 360 lbs. 

No. 11. Another, used with excellent results at the rate of two tons 
per acre : 

Composed of Containing 

1000 lbs. cottonseed meal, 1 Nitrogen, 76 lbs. 
500 lbs. cottonhull ash, > Phosphoric acid, .S2 lbs. 

50 lbs. lime, ) Potash, 160 lbs. 



MANURES AND FERTILIZERS. 147 



COMMERCIAL OR MANUFACTURED FERTILIZERS. 

In the early years of the fertilizer industry, the 
presence of large quantities of chlorine in the potash 
salts, and the use of animal matter, tankage, blood and 
fish, together with the general ignorance of the pecul- 
iarities of the tobacco plant, resulted in the pi'oduction 
of unsatisfactory commercial fertilizers for tobacco, and 
a distrust of such preparations grew up among tobacco 
growers, which may still exist in some measure. As the 
value of the crop increased and large areas were devoted 
to its culture, more attention has been given to its re- 
quirements by fertilizer manufacturers. Some of them 
have made a study of the results of scientific and prac- 
tical experiments, and there is to-day almost no risk to 
even so delicate a crop as tobacco, from the judicious 
use of the best known brands of tobacco fertilizers. The 
Connecticut valley crop of the finest quality that sold 
for the highest price in recent years, Avas grown on a 
well-known tobacco fertilizer. 

The one condition of fertility that is deficient in 
prepared . fertilizers is organic matter. And manufac- 
turers make a mistake in advertising the exclusive use 
of their fertilizers, when far better results can be attained 
by applying them in conjunction with manure and other 
organic matter. This has resulted from the idea that 
where manure is used, fertilizers will not be employed, 
and, therefore, the less said about manure by the manu- 
facturers and the more farmers are led away from it, 
the larger will be the sale of commercial preparations. 
While this may be true with some crops, it is not so 
with tobacco. All artificial fertilizers, whether prepared 
by the manufacturer or the farmer, give the best results 
on soils in good heart ; that is, rich in organic matter. 

The manufacturers of the best tobacco fertilizers 
guarantee that the potash is from sulphate salts only, 



148 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



and that chlorine is not present in appreciable quantities. 
Some also state that no nitrates are present. These fer- 
tilizers come prepared in admirable mechanical condition 
and contain from 4 to 6 per cent of nitrogen, from 7 to 
11 per cent of actual potash, while the phosphoric acid 
does not much exceed 6 per cent, and sometimes is less, 
but little of it being in an insoluble form. Each ferti- 
lizer is compounded by a private formula, whereby the 
manufacturer seeks to preserve the uniformity of results 




FIG. 19. REMOVING CLOTH COVER FROM LARGE BED OF PLANTS. 

obtained, and each one very naturally claims that his 
own brand is the best for the peculiar requirements of 
the crop. Undoubtedly, the plant food in the different 
brands is obtained from different materials, or from dif- 
ferent proportions of the same materials, as each varia- 
tion produces a somewhat peculiar influence on the soil 
and plant. The popularity of the brands differs in dif- 
ferent sections, or with different growers. Where a 
brand has demonstrated its value by producing satisfac- 
tory crops, it is a good plan to continue its use. But 
the average analysis shows that, taken as a whole, with- 



MAN"URES AND FERTILIZERS. 149 

out allowing for peculiarities of composition of the ferti- 
lizer itself, or of the soil on which it is used — which 
cannot be told by analysis — any of the standard brands 
are good ; and experience shows that they can be used 
with safety to the crop and profit to the grower. 

Ho 10 to Use Commercial Fertilizers. — The following 
directions as to how much fertilizer to use, how to apply 
it, etc., are given by a well-known manufacturer, and his 
remarks ajiply with equal force to all brands. Alone, 
without anything else, a ton of high grade commercial 
fertilizer is good manuring. Sow one-half ton or more 
per acre before plowing, then plow under lightly (half 
depth). In ten days or two weeks plow the land at full 
depth and sow on the balance, thoroughly cutting in 
with a long-toothed wheel, or any of the improved har- 
rows. This will leave the land, so far as manuring goes, 
ready for fitting in the usual way before setting plants. 
If one-half quantity stable manure is used, then sow 
half a ton per acre at last harrowing, working it into the 
land thoroughly. Then fit the land for setting, as 
usual. If three-fourths quantity of stable manure is 
used, apply 500 to 600 pounds per acre and harrow in at 
last harrowing, and fit the land in usual way. When 
fertilizer is used alone on sod land, apply 3000 pounds 
per acre after plowing, and thoroughly cut in with 
wheel, disk or long-toothed harrow, as long as possif)le 
before the time of fitting the land. Then harrow again, 
and fit the land for setting in ordinary way. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE SEED BED — RAISING SEED. 

No step in tlie culture of tobacco is more important 
than proper care in the preparation and the sowing 
of the seed beds. This work cannot be neglected in 
manner or season without running the risk of making a 
partial, or total, failure of the crop. To make good 
beds is a laborious task, and requires ripe judgment, 
both in the selection of the location, the soil, and in the 
jjreparation of the land. To have plenty of good, 
strong, healthy plants is the surest foundation for a good 
crop of tobacco, provided they are from seed true to the 
desired standard. 

1. As to Location. — Tlie land selected should have 
a slightly southern exposure, if possible, to get the full 
benefit of the warm rays of the sun in early spring, so 
as to hasten the growth of the plants, in order that they 
may be transplanted before the hot summer weather sets 
in. A southeastern exposure is next to be preferred, 
then a western. The worst of all is a northern slope. 
All trees standing within thirty feet of the bed should 
be cut down. Protection on the north and west sides by 
a skirt of woods is desirable, inasmuch as the young 
plants are thus sheltered from the cold blasts of early 
spring. The best possible situation is on a sloping hill 
on the north side of a running stream, but sufficiently 
elevated to be above any danger from overflows. In 
sueh a situation the fogs will quicken the germination 
of the seeds and accelerate the growth of the plants, 
bringing them forward from ten days to two weeks 
earlier than on level land. 

150 



RAISING SEED. 



151 



2. As to the Soil. — The best is a rich, friable, 
black virgin loam, or sandy soil. Black is preferable 
because it absorbs to a greater degree the rays of the sun, 
and brings forward the plants several days earlier, which 
is highly important to the tobacco grower. A differ- 
ence of a few days often makes the difference between a 
rich, fancy article and a dull-colored, frosty one. The 
preference in the Clarksville heavy-shipping district is a 
spot in the woods, covered with a dense, hazel thicket, 
or black gum with a few scrub hickories. This wild 
growth invariably indicates rich, loose, deep soil, with a 
large content of potash. In the White Burley district 
of Kentucky, beds are 
originally burned and 
prepared on old sod 



lands. Many goodi 
farmers select a place' 
in their vegetable gar- 
den, cover it with vir- 
gin mold taken from 
the woods, and sow it fig. 20. basket for carrying plants. 
after thoroughly burning the land. In the North a 
dark but rather sandy soil is preferred as best adapted to 
a strong growth of roots ; the surface does not bake or 
crack when dry, and the plants can be lifted easily with- 
out much damage. 

3. As to Burnmg. — The wild growth should be 
cut off near the surface of the ground with an axe, not 
dug up ; the leaves carefully raked from the land, and 
then, beginning at one side, a layer of trash should be 
put down longitudinally, until it is about four feet high 
and four wide. Against this, brush should be set up, 
nearly vertically, leaning just enough to prevent it from 
falling back on the bed. This is continued until about 
eight feet of the length of the bed is passed over, when 
a layer of wood, eight feet long, is set on the end lean- 




152 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ing against the brush. After this, eight feet more of 
brash is set up, and a layer of wood, and so on until the 
whole space is occupied. It should then he set on fire, 
and when the brush burns out the whole bed will be 
thickly covered with burning wood, which will be con- 
sumed upon the ground and burn it sufficiently hard. 
The brush may all be set up without interspersing the 
wood and then afterward the whole should be covered 
with a layer of wood, as shown in Fig. 12. Old rails 
laid upon skids, so as to keep them from lying on the 
ground, three or four deep, or the logs of an old 
house, are admirable materials for burning plant beds. 
They are easily set afire and burn the ground well. In 
repairing fences, the old rails should always be kept 
for this purpose. They save much valuable timber 
and a great deal of hard labor. The burning destroys 
all weed seed. 

4. Preparation and Sowing. — The ground should 
be burned until it has a reddish, or soft, brick-like 
appearance, and will pulverize into an impalpable pow- 
der. It should then be coultered, or spaded up, and 
chopped over with hoes until it is well prepared. The 
ashes should not be raked off, but thoroughly incorpo- 
rated with the top soil. At the North, a heavy dressing 
of well-rotted horse manure, hog manure or cottonseed 
meal is applied in the fall, so that the fertility can be 
well spread through the soil. Then in the spring about 
150 pounds of some high-grade commercial fertilizer is 
raked in to every 100 square yards. 

As soon as the ground can be worked in the spring 
without packing, and danger from hard frosts is over, it 
should be harrowed, or lightly spaded, and made very 
fine and friable by both harrow and hand rake, and to a 
depth of two or three inches. Care should be taken 
not to reverse the soil. All roots and rocks should be 
picked up, the land receiving a good raking after each 



RAISING SEED. 153 

digging. When in nice order, mark off beds four feet 
wide, and it is ready to be seeded. 

It is usual at the South to sow at the rate of one 
heaping tablespoonful of seeds to every 100 square 
yards. In the Connecticut valley the rate is to sow a 
tablespoonful of seed to each square rod of bed ; this 
gives about 60,000 seed, but many will be covered too 
deep and therefore fail to grow. Some sow the seed by 
taking a small quantity between the thumb and finger 
and scattering over the bed, first one way and then the 
other, to ensure even seeding ; others mix the seed, 
before sowing, with a pint of corn or cottonseed meal, 
or ashes or land plaster, as it is then easier to handle, 
and the meal can be seen upon the ground and a more 
perfect sowing made. Some sprout the seed and claim 
they save a few days in starting. While such seed 
comes up a little quicker, it is doubtful if any ma- 
terial difference in the size of the plants can be seen 
in three or four weeks. To sprout seed, place a 
piece of dark, woolen cloth in a dish, and cover the 
cloth about one-fourth an inch deep with seed ; then 
place another woolen cloth over it, and saturate with 
warm water, and place in a warm spot near the stove. 
In three or four days small white spots can be seen 
on the seed, indicating germination, and it then should 
be sown at once ; longer sprouting would develop 
rootlets, and this should not be done until the seed is 
in the ground. 

Do not rake in the seed ; that would cover it too 
much. The best plan is to run a heavy hand roller over 
tlie bed, or press it with a board, or with the feet, until 
the entire surface is smooth and compact. Southern 
planters tramp in the seed by going around the bed, one 
foot following the other, with toes pointing outward, 
making a smootli, well-tramped surface. Firming the 
soil is very essential to success, as the compact surface 



154 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




RAISIKG SEED. 155 

retains the moisture in tlie ground, which materially as- 
sists in the growth of the seed and tiny i)lants. 

A frequent mistake is made in using too much seed. 
It is better to err in using too little. In the latter case, 
the plants will be large, healthy, low and stocky, and 
will withstand a very hot sun, and may be set with very 
little moisture in the soil. When plants are crowded in 
the bed the stems are small, delicate, white and crisp. 
They have such a weakness of constitution that hun- 
dreds of them perish after being transplanted, and even 
if they survive this shock, their vitality is so feeble that 
several weeks must elai)se before they show a healthy 
growth. In the meantime, they are preyed upon by cut- 
worms, grasshoppers and other enemies, so that a good 
stand is almost impossible to be secured with such 
plants. In consequence, tlie tobacco field is of uneven 
growth, which entails much unnecessary work upon the 
farmer and seriously impairs the value of his crop. 
Trenches should be dug on the upper end of the bed and 
on both sides, so as to keep any floods of water from run- 
ning over the bed. In Germany this is done as shown 
in Fig. 13. 

Sprouting the Seed, which is not practiced in the 
South, is frequently resorted to by northern growers in 
order to hasten the growth of the plants. In Wisconsin, 
the seed is mixed Avith finely pulverized, rotteu wood, 
taken from the hollow of an old stump or log, and 
placed in a pan or dish in a warm place, where it is kept 
moderately damp by sprinkling with tepid water. 
Under such conditions, the seed will germinate in about 
two weeks, and is sown as soon as the danger of frost is 
passed. Another plan is to sprinkle the seed thinly 
upon a piece of dampened cotton cloth and cover it with 
another cloth made of wool. The two are rolled 
together, the woolen cloth on the outside. This roll is 
kept in a warm place, or under a stove, and dipped in 



156 TOBACCO LEAF. 

tepid water every day. In from four to six days the 
white germs will appear. In the northern part of Illi- 
nois such cloths are kej^t moist in a pan of earth, of 
which there is a layer below as well as above the cloth. 
Great care must be observed in all these forcing proc- 
esses. It often happens that the soil of the plant l)ed 
is too wet, or otherwise not in proper condition when 
the seed is ready, and when the delay of a day or two 
may render the sprouted seed useless. Prudence would 
suggest, in such a case, the preparation of several par- 
cels of seed at intervals of a few days. 

Covering for Playit Beds. — Nothing that has ever 
been invented or devised has effected so much for the 
tobacco grower, at such a small cost, as a canvas cover- 
ing for the seed bed. It is an absolute protection 
against the ravages of the flea beetle ; it hastens the 
growth of the plant by keeping the bed moist and warm, 
and it prevents the accumulation, on the bed, of drifted 
leaves or trash. The heat absorbed by the soil from the 
sun's rays during the day is radiated, and lost at night 
in the open air ; but under this covering it is reflected 
by the canvas to the soil again, and thus a warm 
temperature is preserved, highly promotive of the growth 
of the plants. A given area, protected by canvas cover- 
ing, will furnish at least a third more plants. Its con- 
struction is very simple. A frame or box is made 
around the bed, four or five inches high, as shown in 
Fig. 15. A few wires may be stretched across the 
frame, and closely tacked on the edges to upliold the 
canvas. In place of wire, a small quantity of light brush 
thrown over the bed will help to sustain the weight of 
the cloth. Better than either are a few bows made of 
wire, like the wickets used in croquet sets, and stuck at 
intervals over the bed. These will hold up the canvas 
and yet leave it flexible. 

Instead of making the frame the full size of the 



RAISING SEED. 



15? 



bed, a more convenient plan, probably, would be to con- 
struct a number of smaller frames, eight or ten feet 
square, over which the cloth may be stretched and 
securely fastened, a sufficient number of these frames 
being jirovided to cover the beds. Such frames, well 
braced, with their covering, could be removed when no 
longer needed and put away for future use. If the 
cloth is treated with a single coating of white lead and 
oil, it will last for several years. 

Still another method may be more economical. 
The frames may be made, and properly braced with di- 
agonal pieces inserted at the corners, flush with the 




FIG. 22. SETTING PLANTS BY HAND. 

upper edges of the plank. The cloth or canvas should 
be cut some three inches longer and wider than the 
frame and hemmed along the edges. Eyelet holes 
worked along the edges make it easy to fasten the 
canvas to hooks, pegs or nails driven in the outer faces 
of the frame, two or three inches below the upper edge. 
Constructed in this manner, the canvas may be rolled up 
so as to let in the air and sunlight to harden the plants, 
see Fig.lG. Such coverings for beds amount to a jws- 
itive insurance of the plants at a very small expense, 
for the cost of a frame and canvas to cover one hundred 
yards need not exceed four dollars, as the price of suit- 



158 TOBACCO LEAF. 

able cloth ranges from three to tlireo and one-half cents 
per yard, and will, if taken care of, last several seasons. 
At the North, glass is often used instead of cloth — reg- 
ular hotbed sash, five and one-half feet long. Cloth- 
covered frames of the same size are made to take the 
place of the glass sash after the plants are well started, 
this arrangement being shown by Fig. 17. 

Other Methods. — Some planters select a place and 
make a standing bed, which is kept and used from year 
to year. After the planting season is over, and before 
the grass and weeds have gone to seed, the standing bed 
is coultered, and then covered with straw, leaves, or 
brush with leaves on, so thickly as to hide the surface 
and jirevent vegetable growth. The trash and brush 
are burned off at some dry time in November, or later. 
Such standing beds, if well manured, are said to become 
better each succeeding year. They are heavily dressed 
with fresh loam from the woodlands, and comj^osts of 
stable manure, thoroughly rotted, care being taken to 
handle it so as to destroy all foreign seeds, and also 
with frequent topdressings of good commercial fertilizers. 

In Louisiana the soil is not burned at all in making 
seed beds, because the immense quantity of undecom- 
posed vegetable matter contained in the soil makes it 
too light and porous when burned. A spot is selected, 
generally of old land, which is highly manured with cow 
dung spread on to a depth of six inches, and turned 
under with a spade or plow. After this, the bed is 
chopped fine with a hoe and i^ulverized with frequent 
rakings. This is done in October. The bed is worked 
again in December, and beaten with the back of a spade, 
or compacted with a roller ; channels to secure drainage 
are cut through it every three feet, and the seed is sown 
in January. 

In Tennessee and Kentucky, when beds are made 
upon rich virgin soils, manurial applications are rare, 



KAISING SEED. 159 

but in all the Atlantic States it is the general practice 
to chop fine well-rottccl stable manure in the soil when 
the bed is being prepared for sowing. Many sow the 
seed, and even the surface of the bed with well pulver- 
ized manure free from grass seed. A light dressing of 
the sulphate of lime (land plaster) has been found of 
great service, also one of the superphosphate of lime. 
Liquid manure applied after tlie plants are up will prob- 
ably be found the best of all applications to promote a 
rapid and healthy growth. A good liquid manure for 
this purpose is made by taking a tight barrel half filled 
with cow dung or well-rotted stable manure, and adding 
water enough to fill it. The whole should be stirred 
until it becomes a tliick, soapy mass, which should be 
applied to the bed by using a broom as a sprinkler. A 
gallon of guano in a barrel of water will also be found 
to stimulate the growth of the young plants. This 
quality, without detriment, may be used on one hun- 
dred square yards. 

As to the Best Time for Burning Plant Beds, there 
is a variety of opinion. They may be burned at any 
time from the first of November until the 25th of March, 
when the ground is dry enough. A bed burned when 
the land is wet or frozen rarely does well. When the 
land is too wet to plow, it is too wet to burn plant beds. 
Those burned in the fall usually require less fuel, are 
more easily prepared, and the ashes have more time to 
rot, thus making better plant food. The ashes should 
not be removed, but incorporated with the earth. When 
beds are burned in the fall, they should be dug up and 
prepared for sowing. In this condition they should be 
left to the ameliorating effects of the freezes until the 
latter part of January or the early part of February, or 
even as late as April, when canvas coverings are intended 
to be used. One of the best tobacco growers in the 
South gives it as the result of his experience for thirty- 



160 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




FIG. 23. P.EMI.S THANSPLANTER AT WORK. 

This machine sets cabbage, tomato, strawberry and other plants, as well as tobacco plan 
It is made by the Fuller & Johnson M'fg Co.. of Madison, Wis., U. S. A. 



RAISING SEED. KJi 

five years, that a rod of land well burned and prepared 
in the fall, will furnish as many good plants as double 
the area burned at the usual time, in February or Marcli. 
This planter, however, had never used the canvas covers. 

The question has been frequently asked, why soils 
unburned will not answer as well as burned soils. All 
the good effects of burning have never been accounted 
for. We do know, however, that soils well burned will 
bring strong, healthy plants, and those unburned will 
often produce yellow, small and sickly ones. One effect 
of the fire is to destroy all the seeds of Aveeds and grass, 
giving the entire land to whatever seeds are sown upon 
it. A second effect is to render the soil more permeable 
to the roots of the plants, and by increasing its absorp- 
tive capacity, preserve the proper degree of warmth and 
moisture. A third effect is the inducing of a more 
thorough pulverization of the soil, rendering it more 
friable, and increasing, as it were, the area of the feed- 
ing ground of the roots, thus rendering more plant food 
available. 

Another beneficial effect is produced by the pres- 
ence of minute particles of charcoal, which, being black, 
makes the bed warmer, and being a good condenser of 
the gases within its pores, particularly of carbonic acid 
gas (absorbing, as it does, 90 times its volume), it col- 
lects a rich supply of food for the plants. And finally, 
it is well known to chemists that burned clay, being 
more porous, absorbs ammoniacal and other gases from 
the soil and from the atmosphere more readily, and fixes 
them for the use of plants. All clays, says Mr. Johnson, 
contain sensible quantities of most of the mineral sub- 
stances, — potash, soda, lime, etc., — which plants require 
for their healthy growth. They are, however, in an 
insoluble condition, which circumstance, united to the 
stiffness of the clay, prevents the roots of plants from 
readily taking them up. The chemical condition of the 
11 



162 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



constituents of the clay is altered when burned by a 
gentle heat, and the substances which the plants require 
are rendered more soluble. 

CARE OF PLANT BEDS. 

The covering, whether of glass or cloth, should be 
removed after the plants are up, in the sunny part of 
the day at first, and gradually for a longer time, until 




FIG. 24. FIELD READY FOB MACHINE TRANSPLANTING (Connecticut). 

finally no covering is used. This "hardening" process 
is absolutely necessary, to give the plants sufficient 
strength of constitution to withstand transplanting into 
the open field, and to make a vigorous start when so 
transplanted. The plants may be so uneven as to re- 
quire that part be covered while the rest are exposed 
(Figs. 15, 16, 17), but usually the entire covering is 
removed (Fig. 19) after the sun is well up, but is spread 



RAISING SEED. 163 

again at night, until all danger of cold or frost is past. 
The bed must be kept clean and free from weeds, and 
well watered. 

The aim of the grower is to raise early, strong and 
stocky plants, and. not those of a weak or spindling na- 
ture. It is a good plan to have two or three beds 
planted at intervals of a few days. This ensures plenty 
of plants, and also meets the possibilities of the season. 
If the season opens early, those from the first bed can be 
used ; if later, those from the second or third bed. 
Plants from the later beds are just what are wanted for 
resetting. 

A bed ten yards square, if well prepared, should set 
six or seven acres. But it is always safe to prepare 
double the area or number of seed beds thought to be 
necessary, for no tobacco grower ever regrets having a 
surplus of plants ; in that case, he may select the best. 
For transplanting to old land, the plants should be 
larger than for new land. 

RAISING THE BEST TOBACCO SEED. 

To raise good tobacco requires, in the first place, 
good seed. This is more essential in tobacco- than any 
other crop, because the range of types, grades and prices 
is wider in this than any other crop. And the seed 
controls all these as much, if not more, than any other 
one factor. Tobacco, apparently, has a natural inclina- 
tion to depart from a fixed .type and break into sub-vari- 
eties, thus adjusting itself to the climate and soil in 
which it is placed. Moreover, the pollen is easily dis- 
seminated, and may be carried half a mile or more, caus- 
ing much crossing where several varieties are grown 
near together. To grow good seed requires time and 
patience, but it will pay better than any other work 
done on the crop. Seed is often saved from any well- 
growing plant, regardless of the chances of cross-fertili- 



1G4 TOBACCO LEAF. 

zation, in a careless, shiftless way, resulting in much 
confusion of varieties and a ^reat lowering of quality. 
This is all wrong, but it is the general practice at the 
South, and too often done at the North. There are a 
few farms in the United States that make a specialty of 
growing tobacco seed. A bushel of seed, of manufactur- 
ing varieties, is worth from forty to fifty dollars, but 
cigar-leaf growers often pay as high as two dollars per 
ounce, and the prices of cigar-leaf seed varies from tifty 
.cents to two dollars and a quarter per ounce, a fair average 
for good seed now being one dollar per ounce. " Clieap" 
seed is always the most expensive. The best growers 
cheerfully pay the highest price for seed known to be 
pure and of the best quality. 

The largest, and possibly the best, tobacco seed 
farm in the world is the Ragland seed farm at South 
Boston, Virginia. On this farm is grown, every year, 
from 100 to 125 bushels of tobacco seed, which embraces 
all the standard, as well as the rare, varieties of tobacco. 
The yield per acre is from four to five bushels, weighing 
thirty-five pounds per bushel. In regard to tlie vitality 
of tobacco seed, it is curious to note that not more than 
75 per cent of the most carefully grown seed will ger- 
minate. Mr. W. C. Slate, the manager of the Ragland 
tobacco farm, has made many tests in this matter, and 
he says it is very rare to find any seed that will show a 
larger per cent of vitality. 

The best way to secure a perfect leaf is to grow the 
seed plants in an isolated place, removed at least a 
mile from any other field of tobacco. There must be 
several plants near each other, so that the pollen may be 
interchanged between the flowers of the different plants. 
There is a greenish striped Avorm, much like the bud 
worm, that feeds upon the seed pods when young and 
tender. These worms must he destroyed, as thoy will 
make the pods upon which they feed seedless. In turn- 



RAISING SEED. 



1(35 



ing out plants for seed, the earliest, the healthiest and 
most vigorous growers should be selected. The plants 
selected should be as nearly perfect as })ossible, the 
stalks liini and the leaves near together on the stalk. 
The leaves should be perfect in size, shape and texture, 
with small midribs and veins. When the plant blos- 
soms, carefully and frequently remove all suckers and 
side shoots, leaving only the large clusteis of flowers at 




WATERING SKT I'LANTS 



the top to produce seed ; also remove two or three of the 
upper leaves to prevent the plant becoming top-heavy. 
If the weather is windy and the plant liable to lean, 
drive a lath near the plant and tie the stalk to it. When 
it has developed a good head and the earliest seed pods 
begin to turn brown, pinch off all remaining blossoms 
and small seed buds, and continue to do so if any blos- 
soms appear later on. The ideal seed would be taken 



166 . TOBACCO LEAF. 

from the central cluster of capsules of a well-developed 
and carefully selected plant. A smaller quantity of seed 
will be obtained, but it will be plump and healtby. The 
great object is to force all the strength of the plant into 
the production of a limited number of very nice seed, 
and great care should be taken to keep the plant grow- 
ing vigorously until this is attained. If there is danger 
of early frost, the plant can be covered at night with a 
flour or grain sack, or newspapers pinned around it. 
Should there be any danger of a freeze before the seeds 
are ripe, wet the roots and pull up the plants, with the 
dirt adhering to the roots, and carefully place in a warm, 
dry barn, and the seed will mature from the juices in the 
stalk and roots. 

When the seed is ripe, which is shown by the seed 
pods turning brown, cut off the head with about a foot 
of the stalk attached and hang in a warm, dry chamber. 
When the bulbs and stalks are entirely dry, remove the 
bulb shell from the seed, and carefully winnow it until 
the chaff and all the lightest seed are removed. Some, 
however, do not shell the seed until wanted, claiming 
that it keeps better in the pod ; in which case the pods, 
when dried, are picked and placed in a flour sack or 
pasteboard box and kept in a warm place until the seed 
is wanted for planting, when the quantity desired is 
shelled. 

SELECTION OF SEED FOR SPECIFIC PURPOSES. 

Some growers of fine cigar wrappers import seed 
from the best Vuelta districts of Cuba and grow it, as 
previously described, for four years in succession before 
saving seed for crop purposes, and then succeed in rais- 
ing a uniform article year after year. Ci'ops are never 
raised from freshly imported seed, because several years 
are necessary to thoroughly acclimate the plant. The 
idea that Havana seed should be used only a few years 



BAISING SEED. 167 

from importation, that it deteriorates, runs out, runs 
into seedleaf, etc., is disputed by many of the most skill- 
ful growers in the Connecticut valley, wlio believe that 
these results arise more from cross-fertilization than from 
any other cause. It is true that soil and climate gradually 
change the size and fragrance of the leaf in the course 
of a long term of years, but this change does not neces- 
sarily lessen the quality of the leaf for wrappers, if proper 
attention is paid to raising and selecting seed. They 
believe that the quality, instead of deteriorating, stead- 
ily improves under the careful cultivation given to it. 
There is an opinion held by some careful growers that it 
is wise to occasionally get seed from a different locality, 
say 50 or 100 miles from the section in which their seed 
has been grown. 

TESTING THE VITALITY OF TOBACCO SEED. 

Tobacco seed retains its vitality for 10, 12, and even 
20 years, but many experienced growers believe it loses 
in vitality after it is 10 years old. The individual seeds, 
however, often vary in vitality, and to determine the 
proportion of good and bad seed, place pieces of dark 
woolen cloth on an earthen plate, sprinkle some seed 
over these, cover the whole with more woolen, moisten 
it thoroughly and keep warm by placing on a mantel 
near a warm stove. In time, the seed will sprout, and 
the proportion of good seed can be determined, as the 
sprouts will, readily show against the dark ground of the 
woolen. Another test is to drop some seeds on a hot 
stove, or other hot iron. The good seed will pop and 
liop around like popcorn, while the poor will lie still 
and burn. Still another test is to place some seed in 
the palm of the hand and rub it. If good, the seed will 
feel like grains of sand, and if bad, it will rub into dust. 

The number of seed in an ounce varies with the 
varieties and conditions under which it was grown. We 



168 TOBACCO LEAF. 

found, by actual count, 378,000 to 389,000 seed in one 
ounce of Tennessee-grown Burley leaf ; each large seed 
pod, when projjerly fertilized and fully developed, con- 
tained about 5000 seeds, and an average head contained 
eighty pods. An ounce of Havana seedleaf seed grown 
in Massachusetts contained 287,600 seeds, and 30S,820 
were found in an ounce of seed of Havana leaf tobacco 
grown at Poquouock. A single plant can produce seed 
enough to set 250 acres, if all the seed germinated and 
the plants all thrived. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

TRANSPLANTING. 

The field liaving been properly prepared to receive 
the plants, according to the directions for the various 
kinds of tobacco, given in later chapters, the work of 
transplanting requires the utmost care. Carelessness 
and neglect here are certain to tell seriously on the 
results of the crop. To avoid tramping down the bed, 
while pulling plants, it is a good idea to have a board as 
long as the bed is wide, this board to be one foot wide 
and one and one-half inches thick. Put short legs m 
each end and one in the center, this making a low bench 
to stand upon that will keep one off the bed, while 
pulling and weeding. 

The most careful hands are set to work to draw the 
plants from the beds. In removing plants, wet the bed 
thoroughly, unless this has just been done by a good 
rain ; take a common, two-tined dinner fork, or a stick 
sharpened to a point at one end ; run this down by suit- 
able sized plants and loosen them by gently prying 
under them. The plants should be drawn one at a time, 
so as to leave the smaller ones uninjured in the bed for 
future planting, and so as not to injure the rootlets of 
the plants taken. In drawing the plant, never catch by 
the stem or on the heart or bud, but always by the 
leaves above the bud. If the leaves are slightly bruised, 
it will not hurt the plants, as the leaves come off any 
way. Don't pull the plants one day and set them the 
next, as they will grow crooked and never do well. As 
the plants are drawn, they are laid down in straight 

169 



170 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



piles, the roots being all kej^t together. After this they 
are carefully placed in baskets, or in the bed of a wagon, 
or in a transplanting machine, and taken to the field. 
The plant beds, after the first drawing of plants, de- 
mand some attention and care. Should the weatlier be 
dry and hot, they should be generously sprinkled with 
water thickened with cow manure, late every afternoon. 
For a few days it will be well to keep the canvas cover- 
ing on the bed, for many small plants, being partially 




FIG. 26. OLD STYI.K SOUTHEKN TOBACCO BABN. 

From a photograph taken in Kentucky. 

uptorn in drawing those beside them, need to be re- 
established. 

The Manner of Setting hy Hand. — A dropper 
with a basket of convenient size goes in advance, drop- 
ping plants upon each hill in two rows. Two setters, 
or planters, follow, each taking one row, see Figs. 21 
and 23. A smooth, round peg, eight inches long and 
from one inch to one and one-half inches in diameter. 



TRANSPLAKTING. 



171 



made of some hard seasoned wood, with a rounded 
point, is used for making a hole in the hill, of proper 
depth and size. The plant is then placed in position 
and the soil pressed compactly about the roots by the 
pressure of the j^lanting peg against one side of the 
hole. The use of a hand plant is very convenient to 
the setter of tobacco. When he begins, he takes ah 
extra plant in his left hand and adjusts its roots down- 




Fia. 27. FIRST IMPROVEMENT ON OLD STYLE SHOWN IN FIG. 26. 



ward, Avhile he is making the hole for the plant with the 
peg in his right hand. When this hand plant has been 
set in the first hill, he takes up the plant dropped on 
that hill and passes to the second, adjusting in his left 
hand as he moves from the first to the second hill, 
so as to be ready to thrust the roots into the hole made 
in the second hill. The plant on the second hill in like 
manner is carried to the third. Such an extra plant is 



172 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



called a "hand plant" and greatly facilitates the work 
of transplanting. 

The test applied to determine the thoroughness of 
the work is to catch the top of a leaf, and pull it. If 
the tip breaks, the work is well done ; if the plant is 
drawn up from the ground, it is evident that the plant- 
ing has been imperfectly performed. Careful jilanting 
is very essential to insure a good stand and a ready 
growth. If tlie wliole field is carefully set with plants 
of uniform size, and the soil is of uniform fertility, and 
the cutworms are not troublesome, the very best con- 




FIG. 28. IMPROVED LOG BARN WITH NIPPED SHED. 

ditions are secured for raising a crop of tobacco of 
uniform quality and size. 

After setting, water the plants, unless the field is 
too large. Watering should be done late in the day or 
early in the morning. Fig. 25. If properly set and 
watered, nine out of ten will live. Some shade the 
plants with short grass or leaves, but on large fields this 
is impossible. If it rains soon after they are set, or if 
the ground is quite wet, the plants will soon take root 
and commence growing. If irrigation is possible, apply 
the water after transplanting, if soil is dry. Much de- 
pends upon having a good setting. If there are not 



TKANSPLANTING. 



173 



plants enough, get them somewhere else, if you can 
(they can generally be obtained for from fifty cents to 
one dollar per 1000), if you have a good time for set- 
ting. They will generally wilt down daring the day, 
but if they look fresh in the morning, they will do well. 
A little plaster sprinkled on the leaves helps them at 
this time. Watering is almost essential if the plants 
are becoming too large in the beds. When it can be 
done economically, watering is preferred by many 
planters. 

Replanting of the missmg hills ought to be done 
just as early after they are found as possible. Larger 
plants should be used for this purpose, and tlie greatest 




FIG. 29. MODERN FRAMED BARN, CLARKSVILI.E DISTRICT HEAVY LEAF. 

effort should be made to give to every plant in the field 
an even start. Watering with liquid manure will help 
the backward plants. Don't make the liquid too 
strong; the leach from a manure pile, diluted with 
water, is good ; or a teaspoonful of sulphate of ammonia 
and two spoonfuls of sulphate of potash dissolved in 
warm water and added to a barrel of water. 

Machine Set Plants. — A much more expeditious, 
and in every way satisfactory, method of setting is to use 
a transplanting machine. It is a great labor-saving de- 
vice, and enables the grower to plant a much larger area 
for the same, or even less, expense. A transplanter is a 



174 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



two-wheeled machine drawn by two horses, but such a 
machine cannot be used where there are small stones 
or undecomposed vegetable matter on the ground. The 
land must be clean. It requires one man to drive and 
two boys to drop the plants. It plants one row at a 
time and can set from 3 to 6 acres per day, the amount 
set depending on the skill of the droppers and the space 
between the plants. In a few hours, operators of average 
intelligence will learn how to do good work, and in a 
few days very fast work. Plants are set with mathe- 
matical regularity at any desired distance, 15, 18, 23 or 
30 inches apart. The machine carries a supply of water. 



K*= 



" I3>i FT 



fc-., 13^ fr 



^-.- «7jFY 



.♦^:^-_.-:^..-.--^^. - 40 FT " 

FIG. 30. END VIEW OF FKAMED BARN. 

and the roots of each plant are thoroughly wet below 
the surface of the ground, while being set. This in- 
sures a far better start than can be obtained by hand 
setting, and, moreover, the grower is independent of the 
weather, and can set his plants whenever the land is pre- 
pared, regardless of rains. Machine-set tobacco plants 
start quicker, and grow and mature more evenly and 
quickly than hand-set plants. The machine can also 
be used for setting cabbage, strawberry, tomato and 
many other plants. Some of these machines make it 
unnecessary either to lay off the land in rows or to make 



TEAJSrSPLANTING. 175 

the hills with a hoe. We have been fortunate enough 
to obtain a fine photograph of the Beniis transplanter, 
from which Fig. 23 was engraved, which shows most 
clearly the modus operandi of this useful machine, 
which may be used with or without fertilizer attach- 
ment. It is such a saver of work, time and money, that 
the transplanter is destined to come into universal use. 

E 



I G 



A 



[ _ B _ 



^ <:- 40 FT 



FIU. 31. GKOUNU PLAN OF MODEKN FKAMED BAKN SHOWN IN 
FIGS. 29 AND 30. 

When the land is prepared for using this machine, it is 
only necessary to harrow it until it is finely pulverized, 
then roll or firm the soil with a planter. It is better 
for the ground not to be very moist when it is used, as 
the heavy driving wheels, in tliat case, compact the 
soil too much. Where the ground is very loose, or ashy 
dry, the work will not be so good. A field laid out in 



176 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



model style for transplanting by machine is shown in 
Fig. 24. 

Time of Transplanting. — When this work is done 
by hand at the South, or in the shipping tobacco 
districts, it is customary to wait for gentle spring rains, 
or a "season," as it is called, to put the land in moist 
condition to permit the transfer of the plants from the 
seed bed to the fields without endangering their vitality. 
Usually, in the great shipping tobacco districts, the 
first general planting is done about the 10th to the 20th 
of May. In the yellow-tobacco districts of eastern 
North Carolina and South Carolina, tobacco is often set 




FIG. 32. ANOTHBK STYLE OF FRAME. 

in April. If tiie weather should be seasonable, with 
gentle showers, drawings from the bed may be made 
once a week. It is the greatest folly to set out small 
plants on old land after the first of June, unless the 
ground is very moist, in the latitude of Kentucky, Vir- 
ginia, Tennessee and North Carolina. After that 
period, very vigorous, stocky plants must be used. It is 
more and more becoming the custom among the best 
growers to have plants enough to set out the entire crop 
the first "season" that comes after they are large 
enough. 



TRANSPLANTING. 



177 



Some southern planters do not wait for a "season." 
During the month of May, tobacco plants may be set out 
in freshly made hills late every afternoon, with fair 
chances of living. If the dirt is pressed closely to the 
roots with the fingers, and if the leaves are pulled to- 
gether over the bud, and the dirt pulled up around them, 
19 out of 20 plants will live and thrive. New lands, when 
well prepared, may be set out at any time. Very small 
plants will live on such lands that would perish on old 
lands. If possible, throughout the great heavy shipping 
districts in all the States, this crop should be planted not 
later than the 10th of June, though many will plant as 




FIG. 33. WELL BRACED FKAME. 



late as the 1st of July. Such late planting rarely proves 
satisfactory or profitable. It ought to be remembered 
that "a bud in May is worth a plant in ^June." The 
later the planting is deferred after the 25th of May in 
Tennessee and Kentucky, the more difficult it is to get a 
"stand," and the risk of making a good crop increases 
more and more as the season advances. 

This last remark is equally true in setting tobacco 
for cigar wrappers and fillers at the North. Then the 
best time to transplant must be governed by circum- 
stances. Between June 5th and 20th is the best time 
1^ 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



in soutliern New England, in an ordinary season, also :n 
New York and Wisconsin. Earlier planting than June 
5tli rarely gives as large growth of leaf, or as fine qual- 
ities in the cured leaf, or as large a yield per acre, as 
plants set during the medium season. The plant needs 

the most favorable portion of 
the growing season in which 
to develop to advan tage. The 
warm nights of early August 
,are especially favorable to the 
production of the crop, and 
the more advanced settings 
have so far matured, at this 
o season, as not to receive the 
greatest benefits. Again, the 
condition of the weather dur- 
ing the curing season has 
much to do with the outcome 
FIG. 34. END OF FRAME SHOWN of thc crop . Vcry cixrly to- 
iN FIG. 33. bacco must be housed propor- 

tionally early, and at a season marked at the North by 
hot, dry weather, which causes the leaf to dry, rather 
than cure ; and it also runs greater risk of pole sweat. 
On the other hand, late-set tobacco is liable to be dam- 
aged by early frosts ; it has the advantage that it 
doesn't have to contend with the cutworm, which 
usually disappears early in July. About the 10th of 
June is usually the best time in New England, New 
York and Wisconsin, or a week or ten days earlier in 
Pennsylvania and Ohio. Tobacco Avill then ripen while 
the nights are cool, and the leaf will have greater body, 
character and weight. 

In the extreme South, or with certain varieties of 
tobacco, the time for setting is quite different, as stated 
in connection with those topics. 




CHAPTER IX. 

TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 

The gradual improvement in the style, convenience 
and character of tobacco barns and sheds during the 
past thirty years is very marked in all the tobacco-grow- 
ing districts of the United States. It was an unusual 
thing, at that date, to see any other structure in the 
heavy-tobacco growing region for the hanging and cur- 
ing of tobacco, except a pen built with logs, which was 
often sliedded with a hip roof, leaving the sheds open. 
Fig. 26 gives a good idea of these old-fashioned barns. 
In the cigar-leaf sections, also, the crop, in early times, 
was hung to dry and cure in any vacant shed or barn, or 
unused stalls. But with the progress of the crop, these 
haphazard arrangements have been superseded by sub- 
stantial buildings known as tobacco sheds or barns, that 
are constructed for the sole pui-pose of hanging and cur- 
ing tobacco. But it will be seen, from the jjortions of 
this work on the curing of the various kinds of leaf, 
tluit the perfect structure is yet to be devised, though 
for its purposes Snow's modern barn is certainly a great 
step in advance. 

BARNS FOR HEAVY LEAF AND MANUFACTURING 
TOBACCO. 

The size of the old log barns in the South varied 
from twenty to twenty-four feet square on the inside, 
containing five to six "rooms." A "room" is the ver- 
tical space included between two sets of tier poles ex- 
tending from bottom to top. These tier poles are placed 

179 



180 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 181 

about three feet ten inches apart horizontally, and three 
feet apart vertically. The log barns were usually built 
high enough to contain five of these tiers, besides those 
in the roof. Many of these log barns were chinked and 
daubed with mud all the way to the toj), the only opening 
left being a window in each of the gable ends. Other 
farmers preferred to have the cracks between the logs 
closed only as high as the first set of tier poles. When 
the firing is kept up to a good degree of heat for three 
or four days, the tight barns are unquestionably the best, 
but where the firing is gentle, the barns should be open, 
otherwise there will be injury to the tobacco from 'Miouse 
burn," which is a breaking down of the vesicular system 
through the effects of heat and moisture — a partial decom- 
position of the leaf, which destroys the oily and gummy 
matter and renders the tobacco nearly worthless. 

The body of a barn that is twenty-four feet square 
will contain thirty tiers for firing, six across and five 
high. The sticks are usually placed eight inches apart, 
so each tier will hold thirty sticks. The body of such a 
barn, not including the roof tiers, is capable of holding 
1080 sticks of tobacco. The roof tiers, or collar beams 
as they are called, hold from 200 to 250 sticks more, 
according to the pitch of the roof. This makes the 
entire capacity of such a building about 1300 sticks, 
each containing eight plants, thus giving room enough 
to house about three acres of tobacco. The lowest tier 
upon which the green tobacco is put is about eight or 
nine feet from the floor. Sometimes a set of tier poles 
is arranged below those containing tobacco, but this is 
done for convenience of standing upon when lifting the 
tobacco to the higher tiers. A barn five tiers higli in 
the body and 20 feet square will hold about 900 sticks, 
or it has the capacity to house two acres of tobacco. 
One built 16 feet square and four tiers high and wide 
will house about one acre of tobacco. 



182 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




FIG. 36. CURING BAKN FOK YELLOW TOBACCO. 



TOBACCO BARKS AKD SHEDS. 



183 



Originally, barns were built of round logs, about 
ten inches through, but such were not durable and soon 
rotted down. The first improvement was to hew the 
logs and extend the roof, so as to give protection to the 
sides, and hoods were put on the ends for the same pur- 
pose, as shown in Fig. 27. Two of these pens were 
sometimes built with a passageway between. The next 
improvement was to build hipped-roofed sheds around 




FIG. 37. FIVE-TIEK SIX-ltOOM BAKN, FOli YELLOW TOBACCO. 



the single log pen (see Fig. 28). These sheds fully 
doubled the capacity of the barns. They were generally 
12 to 15 feet wide. A shed 12 feet wide, if built around 
a pen 24 feet square, has 36 ground tiers 12 feet long, 
and if the shed is built three tiers high, such a building 
will provide 118 firing tiers, besides the collar beams, 
which will be equivalent to 18 additional ones, making 
136 tiers. A shed so built is capable of holding 2448 



184 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



•^J 



a .-^^ 





J_ '■■A'a,: 



FIG. 38. FIVE-KOOM FIVE-TIER BARN, FOR YELLOW L£AF. 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 



185 



sticks of tobacco. This, added to the capacity of the 
pen, will give a total capacity of 3748 sticks, equal to 
the housing of between eight and nine acres of tobacco. 
In the heavy-shipping districts of Kentucky, Vir- 
ginia and Tennessee, very few log barns are now built. 
Tliey are more troublesome to build than framed barns. 



^ l W"^-|^^"^|''^ll l M^>' l f^|i^ | ||-Htl■ || . l fw^^p-l■ l n^^4^|llWl l 'WlW^ ,,l. ^ 




FIG. 39. FLUES FOR CURIXG YELLOW LEAF, USED IN THE KARNS 
SHOWN IN FIGS. .30 AND .37. 

and cannot be provided with so many conveniences. At 
present, framed barns are constructed of all dimensions, 
from 20 to 48 feet square, with doors entering through 
the three divisions of the barns high and wide enough 
to pass through with a loaded wagon. Figs. 29, 30 ana 
31 give a good idea of a modern framed barn in the 



im 



I^OBACCO LEAF. 



heavy-tobacco regions. The passageways are about 12|- 
feet wide between the sills, though from outside to out- 
side is 40 feet. These passage ways are separated by 
sills set on stone pillars. The posts set on the 
outside sills are 15 feet high, capped by a stout plate 
4x6 inches. At the higlit of nine feet from the level of 
the sill, the first set of girders, 4x3 inches, is let in the 
posts from the outside. The second set of girders is 
placed three feet above the first, and the plate, which 
answers in the place of a girder, three feet higher on 




FIG. 40. CICAK LEAF BARN. 

The type most coiiiinonly used in the Connecticut valley. 

the top of the outside set of posts. The two sets of 
posts set on the inside sills are 21 feet high, and girders 
are let in at 9, 12, 15 and 18 feet from the level of the 
sills, and stout plates put on the top of these central 
parts. Tier poles are arranged 3 feet 10 inches apart on 
the girders. Between the high central posts there are 
10 tiers arranged horizontally and 5 vertically, besides 
the collar beams in the roof, thus giving 50 tier poles in 
the center of the barn and 10 collar beams, each of the 
latter 7 feet long. 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 



187 




FIG. 41. CKOSS-SEC'l'Id 
BAKN SHOWN IN FKi 



On each side there will be 10 tier poles arranged 
horizontally and three vertically, giving for both sides 
GO tier poles 13 feet long. Add the collar beams, which 
will average about half the length of the tier poles, and 
there will be 10 additional ones. These 
gether, will give 125 tiers, ca- 
pable of holding each about 20 
sticks, making the capacity of 
such a barn about 2500 sticks, 
or with room enough to house 
about six acres of heavy tobacco. 
In such a barn, doors are made 
to enter between the four sets 
of sills. Th..^ makes a great 
convenience in driving a load of 
tobacco immediately under the 
tiers to be filled. There are no end sills. The planks, 
or boards, for inclosing the bam are nailed to the sills, 
girders and plates. In arranging the tier poles, which 
are 3x4 inches, every alternate one should rest on the 
girder beside a post, the posts on the sides of the barn 
being eight feet ai)art. The tier poles are arranged per- 
pendicular to the sides. The 
entire cost of such a barn is 
about $250 to $300, varying 
somewhat according to the prices 
of lumber and the wages of 
rough carpenters. 

Many barns are constructed 
without any sills whatever, the 
posts resting upon flat rocks. These seem to be as dur- 
able as those in which sills are used. Tlie bracing must 
be well done, however. Several of this style are shown 
in Figs. 32, 33 and 34. 

A method of building barns with excavations, or 
cellars, has recently been practiced in some of the heavy 




FIG. 42. SECTIONAL VIEW. 



188 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



tobacco districts. A log or framed barn is erected, with 
the first tier poles put in about three feet from the sur- 
face of the ground. The center is then excavated to the 
depth of seven or eight feet. It is claimed that the fires 
built in the bottom of such an excavation or cellar may 
be better regulated, that they are not disturbed by 




FIG. 43. BASEMENT OF SNOW BARN, SHOWING STOVES SET IN BRICK 
ARCHES, AND PIPES THROUGH WHICH HOT AIR IS DISTRIBUTED. 

winds, and that the danger of setting the barn on fire is 
greatly lessened. A large amount of valuable space is 
secured also. It is likewise claimed that the moisture 
arising from the cellar will bring the tobacco in condi- 
tion to be handled without the necessity of waiting for 
rains or humid weather. 

Experiments made as to the best localities for build- 
ing barns justify the conclusion that low places, free 



TOBACCO BARKS AND SHEDS. 



189 



from overflows or standing water, are to be preferred. 
High situations dry out tobacco too rapidly, and it is 
much more difficult in such places to have the cured 
product come into uniform condition for handling. 
Land sloping to the east is thought to be a good situa- 
tion for a barn, if furnaces are to be used for curing the 




ELKVATION SNOW BARN. 



tobacco. The reason for such a selection is that the 
western winds are most prevalent during the curing sea- 
son, and the smoke issuing from the chimneys or flues 
should be blown away from the barn. 

In the White Burley district all the tobacco is air 
cured, and the tobacco houses are, or should be, so con- 
structed that the air may be freely admitted or excluded. 



190 TOBACCO LEAF. 

as the necessity of the case may demand. Many of the 
barns of that region, however, are built of logs, but are 
not chinked or daubed. They are poorly fitted for cur- 



FIG. 45. INTERIOR OF SNOW BARN. 



ing fine tobacco, as it is exposed very much to beating 
rains or drifting snows, and to the damaging effects of 
winds. The best Burley planters are discarding such 



TOBACCO BARXS AND SHEDS. 



191 



barns and are erecting frame barns, like that in Fig. 35, 
with such conveniences and ajjpliances as will enable 
them to regulate the curing. In damp weather, it is 
the practice to give all the ventilation possible by open- 
ing all the doors and windows ; in dry weather, close the 
barn during the day, and open at night. Too much 
wet weather or too much dry weather is equally hurtful 
in curing tobacco. It is very necessary that the ventila- 




FIG. 40. ONONPAOA TOBACCO BAKN. 

tion of the building should be under perfect control 
while the process of curing is going on. 

The tobacco barns in common use for curing yellow 
tobacco by means of flues are very inexpensive and sim- 
ple in construction. They are usually built of logs or 
poles cut from the woods. Sometimes these logs are 
hewn, but oftener they are put up with the bark on 
them. It requires about 68 logs, or 17 on a side, to 
build a barn with four firing tiers in the body. The 
logs are large enough so that one of them, including the 



192 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



space between the logs, will raise the barn a foot in 
hight. A barn with four firing tiers will therefore be 
17 feet high. "When tlie barn is five firing tiers high it 
requires 80 logs for its construction. 

The first firing tiers are usually put nine feet from 
the ground, and the remaining tiers about two feet and 
nine inches apart vertically. Ground tiers are some- 
times put below the first tiring tiers, for convenience in 




W'pW3W/«v*^^(^»A•^«*A•AJ«55[5l^!lJBS!SS«^?5BB^S 



•^^Mfc#;V***^f^^»^'?J**"^.'* V*'"'^f^'**T*-^ ^ 




FIG. 47. AN ELABORATE PENNSYLVANIA BARN. 



elevating and taking down the tobacco. Usually, there 
are one or two tiers in the roof. When there are four 
rooms, or four vertical spaces, between the tier poles, 
the logs are cut about 17 feet long. When there are 
five rooms, the length of the logs is 21 feet, and for six 
rooms 25 feet long. Fig. 36 is a barn with four rooms 
four tiers high, with ground tiers. Fig. 37 represents 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 193 

a barn five tiers high, with six rooms. Fig. 38 contains 
five rooms five tiers high. 

The most approved barn in size is one with four 
firing tiers in hight, and the same in width. In the 
"rooms" next to the walls, tier poles are put which lie 
against the walls. This is preferable to nailing a strip 
on the walls to support the ends of the sticks holding 
the tobacco plants. 

The barns are not always square. It is necessary 
that one of the inside dimensions, or rather tiie width 
of the barn on the inside, should be some multiplier of 
four in feet, so as to accommodate the width of the 
rooms to the length of tlie sticks, but the length of the 
tier poles need not be so restricted. Some barns are 
therefore constructed 16, 20 or 24 feet in width in the 




FIO. 48. HANGER FOR LEAVES IN SNOW BARN. 

interior, but they may be of any reasonable length in 
the direction in which the tier poles run. Many plant- 
ers prefer barns five tiers wide and five high and of equal 
width and length, with the door on the side and the 
furnaces and smoke escape pipe on the end. 

Barns built of round logs are chinked and daubed 
with mud. If the logs are hewn, after the cracks are 
chinked they are usually pointed with a mortar made of 
lime and sand. This latter manner of closing the spaces 
between the logs, while much neater in appearance, is 
not so effective in making the structures tight as when 
the cracks are closed with mud. 

A square barn containing four firing tiers and four 
rooms in the body, will hold 500 sticks of tobacco, or 
3000 plants. One with five firing tiers and five rooms 
13 



194 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



will hold between 700 and 800 sticks, or from 4200 to 
4800 plants. 

Flues are variously arranged. The illustration 
given in Fig. 39 shows the arrangement most commonly 
used. Two holes are cut in one end of the barn, 36 
inches wide and some three feet high. These openings 
must be 18 to 20 inches from the side walls of the barn, 
as at e e e e in Fig. 39. Brick or stone is used for 
the furnaces, which are built with walls 18 inches apart, 
20 inches in hight at the openings, a a, and arched. 
The spaces above the arches are closed with brick and 




FIG. 49. PATENT VENTILATED BARN, WISCONSIN. 

mortar. These furnaces project on the outside 18 
inches, and are extended on the inside some three feet. 
The lateral walls of the furnaces should be extended 
around from Z' to c and covered with sheet iron. At 
c c, flues made of iron pipe 10 to 12 inches in diameter 
are inserted, with a gentle inclination upward, so as to 
insure draught. They come out of the barn two feet 
higher at ^ ^ than they are at c c. No. 16 sheet iron 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 



195 



should be used for covering the brick flues for a short 
distance, and then No, 18 or 20 will suffice. 

Eecently the flues have been greatly simplified and 
are now made of iron pipe from 10 to 15 inches in diam- 
eter. The flues run continuously from b to c and from 
c to d, coming out on the side of the barn where the 
furnaces are fed and some three feet higher than the 
furnaces. Sometimes there is only one pipe for convey- 
ing the smoke outside the barn. In this case, the gap 
between c and c is filled with a flue pipe, into which a 
single pipe for the escape of the smoke is inserted. Or 




FIG. 50. VERTICAL LENGTHWISE SECTION OF FIG. 49. 

the two pipes, c d and c d, may be united near the 
exit into one discharge pipe. 

Cheaper flues are made by digging ditches in the 
floor of the barn, from 15 to 18 inches wide and about 
an equal depth, and covering them with sheet iron. A 
pipe for conveying the smoke outside must be inserted. 

Mud walls are sometimes built by packing moist 
clay between two boards and beating it down. These 
mud walls are from 12 to 18 inches apart, and some 10 
to 12 inches high. When covered with sheet iron, and 



196 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



the boards burned away, the hardened clay walls will 
stand a long time, if the clay is suitable for making brick. 
The inquiry is often made why the barns for curing 
yellow tobacco are made so small. The reason is that 
unless the barn is filled with tobacco within the period 
of twelve hours and the firing begun, it is impossible to 
cure it of uniform color. For a portion of tlie tobacco 
in the barn to remain for twenty-four hours longer than 
the rest will so impair its quality as to seriously dimin- 
ish its value. Another reason why small, inexpensive 




KKi. 51. SECTIONAL PLAN OF HOUSE IN FIG. 49. 

Showing lnsi)ectioii walk, veiiiilatiiifi funnels, and distributers of the fresh air 

directly upon the leaf. 

barns for curing are preferred is the danger from fire. 
The loss by fire of a barn which contains the growth 
of one acre, is not so disastrous as the loss of one con- 
taining a large portion, or, possibly, all the crop. The 
tobacco in a small barn cures more rapidly, more 
uniformly and more perfectly, and may be removed to 
the packing room within a week, and the barn refilled. 
The Snow Bar;?.— Capt. W. H. Snow, of North 
Carolina, has recently patented a bam with flues, or 
stoves, for curing yellow tobacco. Like many other 
attempts to patent methods of hanging or curing to- 
bacco, the patentee's claims are ignored or disputed by 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 



197 



many, though Mr. Snow stoutly maintains their validity. 
Figs. 44 and 45 will give a good idea of the structure. 
In the Snow barn the leaves only are cured after having 
been stripped green from the growing stalk. The 
leaves are brought to the barn in baskets, and strung on 
tlie points. Fig. 48, about the width of a finger apart. 
As the sticks are filled, they are put on a movable rack, 
shown in Fig. 45, which, by a simple device, is lifted to 
its proper place in the building. 

Captain Snow claims for his process of housing 
tobacco the following advantages : 1. The planter can 
begin to house his crop from two 
to four weeks earlier, as the bot- 
tom leaves, which ripen first, can 
be taken off and cured as soon as 
th.ey are ripe. 2. As the lower 
leaves are pulled off, those left on 
the stalk ripen more rapidly, 
which enables the planter to get 
in his crop earlier in the season. 
3. The tobacco can be stored in 
a much smaller space, and with 

. ^ FIG. 52. END VIEW OP 

no risk of losing color or mold- frame of fig. 49. 
ing when bulked down. 4. Tobacco can be cured with 
a more uniform color. 5. Less fuel will be required, 
and the risk of setting fire to the barn will be greatly 
lessened. 

A hillside, with a slope of two and one-half inches 
to the foot, should be selected for the site of the barn. 
The most convenient size for the barn is 16x20 feet, and 
an excavation should be in the hillside of these dimen- 
sions. The upper side of the excavation will be some 
four feet above the surface. A trench is then dug 
around the four sides of the excavation on the inside, 
one foot wide and deep. The trench should be filled 
with coarse gravel, which acts as a drain, and also as the 




198 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



foundation for the barn. An eight-inch wall of stone 
or brick is built with strong cement upon the gravel 
foundation. This wall is built about five and one-half 
feet high, which makes a basement. A door should be 
left on the lower side of the wall and in the center of it. 
On each side of the space left for the door, two 
other openings should be left, three inches from the 
ground and 22 inches from the side wall, through which 




BALLOON FRAME TOBAOfO BARN. 



The sill is on stone i)osts 18 inclies ahove Krouiid, with an 18-inch door lengthwiset 
as shown In KIr. 40. The sill, c, is 6x6 inches, the plate 2x6, d, the studding 18 
feet high of 2x4 set four feet apart, and flush with sill anil plate on inside, 
firmly nailed at l)ottom and si)iked throuRh plate at top. Then nail on sides 
two strips of 2x6 Mat, a a, which will come Hush with oirlside of sill and plate; 
upon these four surfaces nail the weather hoardiuR, or coverliiK. Brace 
acro.ss each side and end, by nailing on 2x6 flat msiile, as shown In the cut. A 
ham 34 feet wide allows a lO-foot driveway and bays on each side 12 feet deep. 
The poles, o, for holdiuK the lath on which plants are hung are also 2x4 stuff, 
every four feet, beginning even with the plate; the next three tiers below are 
each four feet apart; this brings the bottom permanent tier 7>^ feet from the 
ground, or high enough not to interfere with driving in a loaded team. An- 
other tier four feet below this will allows^ feet for hanging plants. A tier 
inayhe put In the roof also, nailed to rafters. Rafters, p, are 24 feet long. 

the ends of the stoves should come to within the dis- 
tance of four inches of the outside face of the wall. The 
doors of the stoves open outwards. The stoves (Fig. 43) 
are elevated three inches above the ground floor of the 
basement, and are covered with brick arches, with an 
air space of six inches between the arches and the stoves, 
forming jackets, but the rear ends of the jackets are left 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 



190 



open. The arches, howerer, are extended two feet be- 
yond tlie ends of the stoves. Openings are left above 
the crown of the arches and immediately above the stove 
doors, to admit freali air between the arches and the 
stoves. These openings are closed with coverings when 
not needed. Conduits are provided, also, for admitting 
cool air to the basement. 

For the superstructure, sills arc set in the walls four 
by six inches, tlie four-inch sides resting on the walls. 




FIG. 54. SIDE VIEW OF OERMAN FRAME. 

Joists are put in, on which a slatted floor is laid, with 
spaces (me and one-fourth inches wide between three 
and one-half inch slats. This slatted floor extends only 
to Avithin two feet of the walls on two sides and one end. 
The remainder is closely laid, except on the end contain- 
ing the door, which is laid in strips. The studding is 
placed 18 inches apart. The roof is one-third pitch. 
The sheeting is composed of square-edge boards, or 
planks, one inch in thickness. Shingles are used for 
roofing. A ventilator 15 feet long and eight inches 
wide, is placed on the crest of the roof. 



200 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



Sheeting paper is nailed on the studding, and the 
whole biirn is ceiled and weatherljoarded. Collar or 
wind beams are put in the roof. The first set of scaffold 
beams is set about seven feet from the floor on two 
sides and one end of tlie building ; the next set, six feet 
above the first. Windows are put at each end witli 
12 lights of 10x12 glass. 

In the barn of the size given, five pieces two by 
eight inches are placed upright, three and one-half feet 




FIG. 55. SIDE ELEVATION, GERMAN BAKN. 



It 



apart, and extending from bottom to top of the barn. 
In the center of each two by eight piece is nailed a piece 
one and one-half by two inches, which makes a groove 
on each side of the original piece for confining the racks 
as they slide up and down, as shown in Fig. 45. The 
racks, shown in the same illustration, are light frames 
14 feet long, and, taking their places in the grooves, 
make five complete stanchions, or rooms, in the barn, of 
nearly four feet width each. Each rack has 14 notches 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 201 

ou the sides, for holding 14 of the wired, or Snow sticks 
(Fig. 48). The sticks are one inch square, with holes 
six inches apart bored through tiie center. Through 
these holes pointed wires, nine inches long, are put and 
doubled over at right angles to the stick, making 12 
points to the stick, upon which the leaves are strung 
for curing. 

BARNS FOR CURING CIGAR LEAF TOBACCO. 

This operation, at the North, is somewhat different 
from that in the heavy leaf sections of the South. Con- 
siderable controversy has arisen, as to what is the best 
pattern of a barn for cigar leaf, but the one first de- 
scribed is the type in general use throughout the Con- 
necticut valley and New York state, while it is but 
slightly modified in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin. 
The location should be on slightly elevated ground, 
well drained, convenient to the field, and sufficiently 
removed from other buildings to allow a free circulation 
of the air, from all directions. As a rule, the barn 
should stand east and west, for it will thus have the ben- 
efit of the drying and dampening winds, which, coming 
from the south, will draw through the b;irn, with the 
best effect. In this position, it will be less liable to be 
blown over, for the strongest winds, or gales, come 
from the west, and would, tiiereforc, only strike the 
end of the barn. This may vary, however, in different 
localities. 

A barn 30 feet by 45 feet long, three tiei's high, 
will hold an acre of heavy Havana seed cigar-leaf to- 
bacco, or nearly an acre and a half of seedleaf. Three 
tiers is now considered high enough, though the cost of 
a like capacity is a little greater than in a four-tier 
barn. The expense of hanging and taking down to- 
bacco each year from the fourth tier would soon amount 
to more than the extra expense of the building. More- 



203 - TOBACCO LEAF. 

over, the fourth, or higher tiers, do not cure as well as 
the lower ones, the colors are not as good or uniform, 
and the leaf is more liable to have white veins. The 
illustration, Fig. 40, is an outside view of a barn, 30x45 
feet, three tiers high, or ] 7 feet from the sill to the 
phite. Fig, 41 gives the cross section of the end of the 
barn, with the boards removed. Fig. 42 is a sectional 
view, lengthwise, tlirough the middle of the barn, show- 
ing the posts through the center, and the girders on 
which the poles rest. A width of 30 feet is very con- 
venient for a three-tier barn, and a building so con- 
structed is easily and thoroughly aired. The first tier 
of poles, as shown in Fig. 41, b b, should be 7 feet from 
the ground, which will allow of free ventilation from 
beneath, after the plants are hung, thereby lessening 
the liability to stem rot, pole or cold sweat, or injury 
from moisture arising from the ground. The two tiers 
above the first one should be five feet apart, which will 
bring the second tier 12 feet from the ground, and the 
third 17 feet. About a foot or two before the second 
tier, c c, at each end of the barn, and at each bent, a 
stout tie girder, 5x5 inches in size, should extend 
across tlie barn, which will strengthen it very much ; 
some, however, think that no tie girders are necessary 
on the ends of the barn. This tie girder is shown in 
Fig. 41, a a. The middle girders, lengthwise of the 
barn (Fig. 42, a a), should also be of 6xG timber. 
Tliey are sometimes made smaller, but the great weight 
on them, when the barn is full of tobacco, requires this 
size, at least. The upper girders should be braced, but 
the lower ones need not be ; the latter can be made to 
take out at will, when it is called a slip girder. The 
posts, plates and beams should be 7x7 inches, and the 
outside girders, on which the boards are nailed, should 
be 4x6 inches. Sometimes 4x4 inch timber is used for 
these, but it is too small and will be likely to spring. 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 



203 




FIG. 56. GERMAN TOBACCO BABKS. 



204 TOBACCO LEAF. 

thus weakening the barn. It is better to nse timbers of 
good size, and build a substantial structure at a some- 
what increased cost, than to erect a frail structure that 
the first big wind might blow down. 

The ])oles on which the tobacco is hung by tying 
should be 2^x5 inches, of good timber ; spruce is the 
best. These are cheaper in the end than round poles, 
even if the latter cost notliing, if the plants are to be 
tied to them ; when latlis are used, however, the round 
poles are just as good. In a barn 30 feet wide, the 15- 
foot poles should be placed crosswise of the barn, one 
end resting on the middle girder, and the other end on 
the outside girder near the boarding. Roof tiers, if 
there are any, should be hung lengtliwise of the barn. 
When tobacco is hung on slats, the bents should be 16 
feet long, so as to take four lengths of four-feet slats. 
This would make a three-bent barn 48 feet long. 

The covering should be of good boards, of uniform 
width. They should be lined, so that the barn can be 
made tight. Every other board should be hung for a 
door and left as long as will swing under tlie eaves. 
These may be hung in two ways ; either on two hinges, 
to open outward in the usual way, at h (as shown in 
Fig. 40), or the door may have one hinge at the top and 
open outward at the bottom, as seen at a, Fig. 40. The 
latter door will keep the sun and rain off the tobacco 
hanging next to the boarding, but the two-hinged door is 
generally preferred, as giving the least trouble and better 
circulation of air. The eaves should extend two feet 
over the outside of the barn, so that the water Avill fall 
clear of the boards, and thus be prevented from tric- 
kling through upon the tobacco. Many pounds of fine 
leaf are every year damaged by the barn being faulty in 
this particular. The end of the barn needs doors for 
ventilation only at the top, where four are all that are 
necessary, as shown in Fig. 40. Some growers advocate 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 205 

giving as mnch ventilation as possible at the top by a 
ventilator. The sill should be about one foot from the 
ground, resting on a good-sized stone at each post. On 
this, boards about a foot wide should be hung, to turn 
up and let air under the tobacco after it is nearly cured, 
and the long doors are closed, as shown in the side view 
of Fig. 40. A four-tier barn may be constructed on the 
same plan. It should be 36 or 39 feet wide, to use poles 
12 or 13 feet long, there being three lengths of poles 
across the barn, instead of two lengths, as in the three- 
tier barn (Fig. 40). The middle girders need not be 
braced and all the lower ones should be slip girders. 
Upon the lower tier the middle bent should be left 
unhung, to admit of better ventilation. Above the sill 
there should be a row of doors, three or four feet long, 
to ventilate with after the long doors above have been 
closed, or before that, if necessary. 

Jacob Zimmer, an authority on this crop in the 
Miami valley, Ohio, says a better plan is to have the bani, 
even for cigar-leaf tobacco, as air-tight as possil)le, by 
nailing strips over all cracks, except to cut away six 
inches lengthwise at bottom, to admit fresh air, and 
leave an o})en space at top, under the eaves, thus pro- 
viding constant circulation of air. Screen space at bot- 
tom with wire netting to keep out vermin. Fig. 20 
shows such a space under the eaves, and Fig. 40 shows 
the open space alongside at bottom. 

In Pennsylvania, barns are of all sizes, from 20 feet 
square to 40x150 feet, and a width of 36 feet is generally 
preferred. Fig. 47 shows an elaborate affair, 41x184 
feet. There is a cellar nine feet high in the clear, 
under the whole of it, containing a dampening room, 
into which the tobacco is lowered through trap doors in 
the floor, where it is bulked after being stripped. 
A smaller room is used for stripping ; around its four 
sides are permanent tables or counters, with a raised 



206 TOBACCO LEAF. 

wooden floor immediately behind tliem, on which stand 
the men when stripping. The barn is 39 feet high from 
floor to plate, with room for seven tiers of tobacco. 
Ventilation is provided at the sides, at the gables and at 
the roof. At intervals of four feet, there are horizontal 
openings along the entire sides of the whole building, as 
shown in the illustration. Fig. 40, each opening just 
where the tier of tobacco begins. These openings are 
about a foot wide, the doors being operated by levers. 
This ornate affair cost $4,000 about 20 years ago, and is 
far more expensive than necessary. 

In the rest of the Northern cigar-leaf growing sec- 
tions, barns are generally constructed on the principle 
above described. The Snow barn was used in Sufiield, 
Ct., for one season, but H. Austin, under whose auspices 
the trial was made, says: "It cured our cigar leaf too 
quickly, and left the stem hard and woody, the leaf was 
of poor color, and had a smoky smell, which spoiled it 
for cigar leaf." Although this single test is no criterion 
for judging the method, it should be said that it is yet 
a serious question to what extent artificial heat can 
safely be applied to the curing of cigar-leaf tobacco. 

In Florida, barns for cigar leaf are made like those 
in the Connecticut valley, but plants must not be hung 
on the bottom tier, as the leaf might mold in wet 
weather. Instead of single board doors for ventilation, 
windows are made every 8 feet, 2^ or 3 feet wide and 
10 feet long, hung by a hinge at the top. This is nec- 
essary to admit air more freely at night, being closed 
every dry day. The balloon frame tobacco barn is more 
preferred in Florida. As matters of interest for com- 
parison, views are given of the tobacco barns used in 
Germany. 

A Wisconsin barn that has been patented is shown 
at Figs. 49, 50, and 51. This building is 60x33J feet, 
divided into two sections of 24 feet each, and these cut 



TOBACCO BARNS AND SHEDS. 207 

into two divisions of 12 feet each. It is four stories 
high and has four tiers four feet in width each side 
of the center walk, making eight tiers in all. In the 
center, between the two sections, is a driveway of 12 
feet. Midway between the second and third stories is 
an inspection walk, 18 inches wide, the length of the 
building, with a door at each end, which enables one to 
inspect the condition of the upper tiers. The building 
is perfectly air-tight, with no ventilating doors, but 
ventilation is furnished by the air shafts between the 
hanging tobacco ; by the vertical air shaft in center 
of building its whole length ; by the air distributers in 
each section, with pipes connecting them with funnels 
outside of the house ; a rotary turret on the roof, with 
double vanes for ^^pward or downward draft ; arrestors 
to be hung in the center if each section to force an 
upward draft, and by outside ventilating doors at the 
bottom, to admit air. Arrangements are made for venti- 
lating the different rooms independent of each other. 
We believe only one such barn was ever constructed, but 
there are some suggestive features about it. 

A Balloon Frame Tobacco Barn is shown and de- 
scribed at Fig. 53, that can be put together with simply 
a hammer and saw, no mortising is required, and yet it 
will stand the severest cyclone. Long, narrow windows 
along the bottom, just above the sills, are advised by Mr. 
Chapman, also a big window in each gable and three 
cupolas, 4x4, with slats to keep out rain and inside shut- 
ters to exclude air when necessary. This barn, 34x64, 
will hold about three acres, requires 22,000 shingles and 
17,000 feet of lumber. It has no loose poles inside to be 
lost, or to expose men to bad falls by a misstep when 
hanging tobacco. 



CHAPTEE X. 

ON CURING TOBACCO. 

This is one of the most delicate and important op- 
erations, but the method of doing it varies with the 
kind of leaf grown, and the object for which it is to be 
used. The object is to cure the leaf to the desired state 
without sacrifice of its good (jualities, and yet to avoid 
or get rid of bad qualities. But this involves far more 
than merely drying the leaf, for (says Frear) a marked 
loss of dry matter occurs during the process, as well as a 
loss of water. "If the leaf be killed by chloroform or 
frost, the changes ordinarily observed to result from 
curing do not occur. Curing, then, is probably a life 
process, due chiefly (if not wholly) to the activity of the 
cells of the leaf." 

The process of curing is, therefore, much influenced 
by the structure of leaf, and by conditions of tempera- 
ture and moisture. Nor does it appear that the same 
method of curing can by any means be applied, with 
safety, to different types of tobacco. Cigar leaf is prac- 
tically ruined by the quick-curing process used for yel- 
low tobacco. Pole burn and white veins also appear 
under apparently or somewhat different conditions in 
different classes of leaf, and even with the same variety 
in different years. All these matters are now being sci- 
entifically investigated, but we must confine our atten- 
tion to such practical details as have thus far been proven 
to give the best results. We are confident, however, 
that science and practice together will greatly improve 
upon these methods. 

208 



CURING TOBACCO. 209 

CURING THE YELLOW TOBACCO. 

Probably in no other tobacco region in the world 
are so much experience and good judgment required in 
the curing of the crop as in the yellow-tobacco States. 
Barns are purposely built small in order that they may 
be filled quickly. A diflferenee of one day in cutting 
the plants will be hazardous in the curing of the tobacco 
a uniform color. Every plant, if jDossible, should be 
13ut in the barn the same day, and heat applied before it 
is wilted. 

Very minute directions have been given as to the 
regulation of the heat at varying intervals of time, and 
these directions, though valuable, are rarely ever appli- 
cable as a whole to the curing of a barn full of tobacco. 
They require to be modified to suit the change of condi- 
tions. Tobacco cut full of sap, superinduced by a rainy 
season, requires a different formula for curing to that 
cut after a season of dry weather. The sole object, in 
curing, is to expel the sap in such a way as to make the 
desired colors, and to prevent the exudation of the juices, 
which give flavor and suppleness, by improper or too 
rapid curing, or in drying preceded or accomj)anied 
by fermentation. The cells of the leaf must not be 
broken so that the contents are dissipated. This is 
done in tobacco that is house burned or pole sweated. 
Nor must the process of curing be so rapid as to destroy 
the colors. 

Mr. E. L. Ragland, of Virginia, first laid down a 
plan to be followed in curing yellow tobacco, and this 
has been the basis of all subsequent formulas. The 
agent for curing is dry, artificial heat. The heat is either 
made by having heaps of charcoal on the floors under- 
neath the tobacco, or by means of flues running around 
three sides of the bam and heated by wood fed from 
the outside in a furnace (see Fig. 58). A thermometer 
is put inside the barn, so as to determine and regulate 
14 



210 TOBACCO LEAF. 

the degree of heat required at the various stages of the 
curing process. The Snow barn principle is preferred 
by the North Carolina experiment station, because it 
enables temperature and moisture to be more closely 
regulated than in old-fashioned barns. Approximately, 
a pound of water for each plant must be driven out in 
about 100 hours. According to Mr. Ragland's methods, 
there are four stages in the operation : 

1. The yellowing process, requiring 90° of heat 
and lasting from 24 to 30 hours. 

2. Fixing the color, requiring from 16 to 20 hours 
at a temperature ranging from 100° F. at the beginning, 
to 120° at the close. 

3. The curing process, requiring for 48 hours a 
temperature of 120° to 125°. 

4. The curing of the stalk and stem, which re- 
quires from nine to ten hours with a heat of 125° to 175°, 
increased at the rate of 5° an hour. 

Mr. Ragland himself subsequently modified these 
regulations, by advising the heat to be put under the 
tobacco as soon as cut, and the temperature put at 90° 
for three hours and then advanced rapidly to 125°, or as 
high as the tobacco will bear without scalding, letting 
the heat remain at this high temperature for only a few 
minutes, and then allowing the temperature to descend 
to 90° again. This process he calls ''sapping." The 
sap cells are opened, the water comes to the surface of 
the leaves, and the yellowing process is hastened, requir- 
ing only f^om four to eight hours, instead of from 24 to 
30 hours by the old formula. 

Mr. George L. Wimberly, a successful tobacco 
grower of Edgecombe county, lying in the Champaign 
district of North Carolina, gives some information which 
is appended. Mr. Wimberly strips the leaves from the 
stalk in harvesting, and the method of curing is varied 
somewhat from that used in curing tobacco on the stalk. 



CURIKG TOBACCO. 



211 



He says: ''Our barns are simple structures, 30 feet 
square, 16 feet from the ground to the phite, with a roof 
not too sharp, a moderately flat roof being, in the opin- 
ion of experienced tobacco farmers, 
the best. In curing, we generally 
start at 95°, and consume from 24 to 
30 hours between that heat and 110°. 
From this point, advance two and 
one-half degrees per hour until 120° is 
reached, where that degree of heat is 
retained for about four hours. Then 
it is advanced to 125°, where it re- 
mains about the same length of time. 
From that point, the heat is advanced 
slowly to 135°, where it remains until 
the leaf is thoroughly cured. When 
this is done, the critical point is past, 
and the heat can be moved up five 
degrees an hour until it reaches 170°, 
where it should remain until the stem 
is cured so perfectly that it will break 
like a dead twig. The fire is then 
drawn, the door opened, and in 24 
hours the tobacco is ready to come out 
of the barn and go to the pack house. 
It takes four days to cure a barn of 
tobacco, and in a 20-foot barn there will be about 800 
pounds." 

Mr. R. B. Davis, who raises yellow tobacco very 
successfully in the Piedmont district of North Carolina, 

*The instrument consists of two accurately graduated thermome- 
ters, of whicli tlie bulbs are placed at some distance apart. The bulb 
of <ine is surrounded by tliin muslin, which is connected by a wick of 
clean cotton to a cup hung a short distance below, and which, while 
t lie instrument is in use, should contain more or less of distilled, or 
(dean, rain water. The water from tliis cup is drawn upward through 
the wit^k to the muslin that surrounds one of the bulbs, and tlms the 
surface of this bulb is kept constantly moist, while (hat of the other 
bulb is dry. Now, the water on the surface of this wet bulb will evap- 
orate into the air about it more or less rapidly, according as the air 




FIG. 57. 

* PSYCHKOMETER. 



212 TOBACCO LEAF. 

says that the yellowing process should be done at 90° 
(80° if the weather is cool), and should last from 18 to 
30 hours, until the desired color is obtained. The dry- 
ing, or curing, is then effected by regulating the tem- 
perature so as to have 95° for two hours, 100° for two 
hours, 105° for two hours, 110° for two hours, 115° for 
two hours, 120° for six hours, 130° for two hours, 140° 
for two hours, 150° for two hours and 1G0° for 24 hours, 
the last temperature being kept up until the stalks and 
stems are cured. 

A very interesting case was reported by the Border 
Review. A barn 18 feet square, four firing tiers high, 
and containing 450 sticks, or 3150 plants, was success- 
fully cured by the following process : The tobacco was 
of old-field growth, long leaf, but thin and light. The 
temperature was run up to 90° in six hours, then to 100° 
in six hours, then 110° in six hours. The leaf was thor- 
oughly yellowed at the expiration of 18 hours. The 
temperature was then advanced 120° in six hours ; to 
125° in six more ; to 130° in six hours ; to 140° in three 
hours, where it was allowed to remain for six hours. 
At the end of this time the leaf was cured. Then the 
temperature was run up to 150° for three hours and 
held at that point for three hours, then to 170° in 12 
hours, where it stood for 12 hours, until the stalk was 

already contains more or less of moisture, — the more moisture tlie air 
contains, the less rapid will be the evaporation, and vice versa. Since 
water, in evaporating, absorbs heat, the temperature of the wet buMj 
is iowered more or less, according as the evajioration is more or less 
rapid. Hence, by noting the difference in the temperature registered 
by the two tlierniometers, we form an idea of the moisture of the air, 
— the greater the difference registered, the dryer the air, and vice 
versa. When the two tl)ermometers register alike, the air in contact 
with the wet bulb is saturated witli moisture, so tliat it can hold no 
more, and hence evaporation has ceased. In dry, summer weather, 
the difference registered by the two thermometers may amount to fif- 
teen or more degrees. By using prepared tables, the absohite relative 
iiumidity of the air may be determined by the psychronieter, but for 
our present purpose, the dejjression of tlie weli bulb is all that is nec- 
'^ssary to use. The tobacco leaves while in proctess of curing being 
moist, the evajjoration from them will follow the same law as from 
the wet bulb, hence a psychronieter hung among tlie plants in the 
curing house will give an indication at any time of the rate at which 
the moisture is passing off from the tobacco. 



CUEING TOBACCO. 213 

dry. The result was a perfect cure of a lemon color 
requiring only 75 hours. 

Another modification of the process was made by 
Mr. T. C. Anderson, of the Champaign district of North 
Carolina, which he says will always give good results if 
the tobacco yellows well and is allowed to remain on the 
hill until it is thoroughly ripe. His instructions are, 
that it must be cut and put in the barn as soon as possi- 
ble, from five to seven plants on a stick, arranging the 
sticks in the barn ten inches apart in warm weather and 
eight inches in cool weather. Start the fires at once. 
In warm weather run the temperature up to 100° ; in 
cool weather to 75°. Keep the heat to this point for six 
hours; raise to 105°, hold at this point for five or six 
hours ; raise to 110°, at which point hold for 10 or 12 
hours, until the tobacco is yellow enough to commence 
drying the leaf; then raise to 118° or 120°. When this 
temperature is reached, throw the doors open and reduce 
the heat to 105°; then run the heat up to 120°; open 
the doors and let the temperature fall back to 105°. 
Repeat this four or five times. This dries off the sweat 
that causes trouble at this stage of curing. Close the 
doors then and hold the heat at 120° for three hours, or 
until the leaves on the bottom tier are about half cured, 
then raise the heat to 128°. Open the doors and reduce 
the heat to 115°; then close the doors and elevate the 
temperature to 130° in three hours ; then to 135° in five 
hours, or until the leaves are cured ; then to 145° for 
three hours ; then to 150° for two hours ; then 155° for 
three hours ; then to 1G0° for two hours, and so on to 
180°, and hold at this until stalk and stems are cured. 

It is apparent, from a careful study of these differ- 
ent formulas, that every curer must exercise judgment 
as to when to increase and when to decrease the heat. 
He must watch some particular plant and be governed 
by its condition. The greatest danger to be feared is 



214 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



the reddening, "splotching" or sponging of the leaf 
during the second stage, when tlie color is fixed. The 
sweating of the leaf ut this period must be checked, by 
admission of air to the barn by the opening of all doors 
and windows, and by opening a space between the logs 
on the side opposite the door. Mr. Ragland says, just 
at this point more^ failures are made than at any other 
stage of the process. "Five curings are spoiled by forc- 
ing too fast, to one from going too slow." 

Captain E. M. Pace, of South Carolina, gives the 
following directions for curing when the leaves are 



a 



J3. 



ir 



H 



e 



a 



n 



u 



FIG. 58. STOVES AND FLUES FOR CURING SEEDLEAF. 

stripped from the stalk. "Take off the thoroughly 
ripe leaves after a light shower, or early, when the dew 
is heaviest ; string and run the tobacco in the barn be- 
fore it has time to wilt. In case there is no light 
shower, use plenty of water around the sides of the bam 
below the first tiers. Suspend a plank over the main 
flues, to keep the heat from scalding the tobacco on the 
lower tiers (these can be removed after the sweating). 
Use pans filled with water on the flues and furnace. 
This will assist in producing a moisture, or warm vapor, 
thereby aiding the leaf to sweat. The entire bam must 
sweat freely. Heat and water will do it. Stop the use 
of water on the sides and floor as soon as the leaf begins 
to sweat. When the leaf begins to sweat, say at 110°, 



CURING TOBACCO. 215 

115° or 120°, as the case may be, stop the fire and hold 
as long as the leaf will sweat. When the leaf begins to 
dry off, you know then that you have sweated, or 
steamed, all the water or foreign matter out. Draw all 
the fires, open both your doors, ventilators and gable 
windows and give cold, fresh air. Use such fuel as to 
be able to draw the fire quickly. 

The cold air will "yellow" the barn in, say 30 or 60 
minutes, or maybe one and one-half hours, or longer. 
Watch it closely, and when it is sufficiently yellow, be- 
gin a dry heat at once, and advance your heat fast 
enough to keep it from sponging, but not too fast, to 
splotch it. Eight along here you are the sole judge. 
Simply apply to the symptoms which are apparent. If 
not fast enough, the leaf will sponge ; if too fast, the 
leaf will splotch. Always advance as fast as the leaf 
will bear, and rest a few hours at 130° or 135^'. This is 
immaterial, and is only done as a safeguard, for when 
you once pass the sponging and not splotching points, 
you may go ahead and kill out the barn at 150° to 1G0°. 
It is a well-established fact that tobacco, at the time it 
is ripe and ready for curing, contains 80 per cent of 
water, and that water must come out before the plant 
can assume an artificial yellow. You cannot cure 
green tobacco by this method ; it will coddle and turn 
black before it will sweat. By this process it requires 
from 24 to 30 hours, and maybe a little longer, to cure 
a barn. 

The object should be to make as little green tobacco 
as possible. Curing tobacco yellow is now regarded as 
an art, which demands the closest attention, the best 
judgment and the most painstaking experience to attain 
the perfect results. No novice can succeed without un- 
dergoing an apprenticeship, however minute in details 
the instructions he may receive. 

Curing in Leaf vs. Stalk. — On this point the North 



216 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Carolina station conducted an elaborate experiment, and 
concluded : 

1. " If the first priming leaves upon the tobacco 
stalk be saved, they can be cured at a considerable saving. 
The remaining leaves upon the stalk ripen at different 
times, commencing from below, and if these leaves be 
cured separately the experiment would indicate that it 
can be done advantageously and remuneratively. Curing 
by the leaf process, the i)lant will require at least three 
separate curings in the barn, whereas only one curing is 
required to cure the entire stalk witb its leaves still 
upon it, but the results justify the additional labor. It 
is believed, also, that by removing the lower leaves the 
remainder mature more rapidly, and so the danger of 
being hurt by frost is decreased. 

2. "The manipulation in handling the leaves sepa- 
rately is considerably more than in tbe stalk cure, but 
the greater part of it is of sucb a nature that it can prof- 
itably be done by children, and at various times during 
the season. < 

3. "There is a less consumption of wood for heat- 
ing by the leaf cure tban by the stalk cure. There is 
apparently no satisfactory cause for consuming wood to 
drive off 473 pounds of water (or 94G pounds, or 124 
gallons, per acre) contained as moisture in tbe green 
stalks, when results would indicate that there is no good 
reason for the outlay." 

CURING HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 

If the tobacco has been on the scaffold for four or 
five days, fires should be kindled under it as soon as the 
barn is filled. The heat should not be over 90° for 12 
hours. After that time, it may be carried up gradually 
to 150°. The leafy part and one half the stem should 
be cured in three days and nights. After this, the 
tobacco should be allowed to come in "order" (that is, 



CURING TOBACCO. 217 

to become pliant from the absorption of moisture), and 
dried out by fires. This alternation should be kept up 
for two or three weeks ; and, indeed, whejiever, during 
the fall months, the tobacco gets very damp, it should 
be dried out with fires. 

When the tobacco is taken directly from the field, 
it should remain hanging in the barn for four or five 
days. Slow fires should then be kindled under it, and 
at the expiration of 24 hours, the heat may be increased, 
as in the case of tobacco taken directly from the scaffold 
to the barn. 

In the heavy shipping districts, at least 90 per cent 
of the leaf is cured by open, wood fires. Two logs are 



rrt ffl i iB H-i— rfia e 



I B m i iBi Bt— rS H i iH Wt— r» H i 



FIG. 59. HORIZONTAL VENTILATORS FOR PROTECTION AGAINST POLE 
BURN OR POLE SWEAT. 

placed side by side and the fires kindled between them. 
Small sticks of wood are supplied, to lay at the point of 
contact of the logs, so as to keep them burning. Some 
flue-cured tobacco is made in the heavy shipping dis- 
tricts, but scarcely enough to make note of. The prin- 
ciple and method of flue curing will be fully discui'sed 
under the head of yellow tobacco. Flues may be built, 
in a barn 20x20 feet, for about $15.00, including chim- 
neys for carrying off the smoke. 



218 TOBACCO LEAF. 

It should never be forgotten that the object in 
curing is not so much to dry the leaf as to fix, as far as 
possible, the qualities of the leaf as to color, strength, 
elasticity and flavor. Even the texture may be improved 
by judicious management in curing. To begin the fires 
too early, makes the leaf starchy and stiff. To make 
the fire too hot in the beginning, makes a bluish, unde- 
sirable color. The desired flexibility and softness of the 
stem, fiber and tissue of the leaf cannot be secured 
unless the curing process is made gradual. To make 
hot fires under the plants, before they have sufficiently 
yellowed, would be to impair the value of the article 
fully one half, if not more. Gentle fires for the first 24 
hours are i)ositively necessary, to bring about the best 
qualities in the leaf. To delay firing too long would 
increase the liability of injury from "house burn." 
Care should be taken that the fires are managed so as 
not to emit much blaze, for there is always a danger of 
setting the dried tobacco on fire. Tobacco cut in wet 
weather, when full of sap, requires a longer time to 
cure. The danger from "house burn" is also increased. 

Sometimes, after the tobacco has been cured, it is 
necessary, in humid weather, to keep up fires to prevent 
a change of color by the running of the sap in the 
leaves. Piebald or yellow tobacco should be dried out 
whenever it grows very limp. Otherwise, the color will 
change to a red, or a reddish-brown, or yello»v. When 
all the stalks and stems are thoroughly cured, the 
tobacco may be packed down, and in this way all colors 
may be preserved. Small barns for fire curing are better 
than large ones, because they can be filled in a short 
time, and the curing will begin with all the plants 
simultaneously. The quality of the crop will be made 
uniform as to color and softness of leaf. 

Open fire heat is preferred for all tobacco to be 
shipped abroad. The pores of the leaf are filled with a 



CURING TOBACCO. 219 

carbonaceous matter that has a preservative effect. It 
has long been known that fire and smoke cured tobacco 
will withstand an ocean voyage;, and go tliroiigh the 
sweat, or fermentation, much better than tobacco tliat 
is air cured. The firmness and solidity of structure of 
leaf, as well as its strength, arc preserved. The porous 
system is filled witli creosotic compounds, and the 
absorptive capacity of the leaf is greatly diminished fropi 
what it would be by air, sun or flue curing. 

In air-cured tobacco, of which there is a consid- 
erable amount made in heavy shipping districts, the 
natural flavor of the leaf is better preserved, and its 
porous system is greatly developed, so as to absorb and 
retain a large percentage of the artificial flavorings with 
which it is tested in the process of manufacturing. 

CURING WHITE BURLEY TOBACCO. 

As a general rule, no artificial heat is empjoycd in 
curing White Burley toljacco. From six to eight weeks 
are required to complete the process, by the ordinary 
methods of air curing in the barns provided with ample 
facilities for ventilation. If the weather is very dry, to 
prevent curing too rapidly, all openings sliould be closed 
during the day and opened during the night. During 
wet weather and when house burn has begun, or is 
feared, all possildo ventilation should be given, by 
throwing open the doors and windows. Passages 
through the tobacco hanging in the barn should also be 
made, in order that the air may find free access to every 
part. Sometimes, when house burn is threatened, 
small charcoal fires are built in the barn, during very 
wet weather, though this is an unusual practice, and is 
rarely resorted to. If the season should be very dry, 
(luring tlie period of curing, the toljacco will be variable 
in color; if too wot, the color will be too dark ; but after 
being housed, if the weather is fair, with occasional 



220 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




FIG. 60. MOTHS OF CUTWORMS. 



, Moth of dingy cutworm (Feltia jaculifera) \ B, another species of dlnsy ciit- 
•worni (Feltia snbgothica), both one and one-half times natural size; C, moth of 
traveling cutworm (Feltia gladiaria), two and one-fourth times natural size. 
Other varieties and species of these moths differ but slightly from these in tha 
eyes of all except the scientist. 



CURING TOBACCO. 221 

showers, the tobacco will cure a beautiful bright, golden- 
red color. Much the same methods are to be followed 
in curing Bur ley as is the case with cigar leaf or seed- 
leaf. 

CURING SEEDLEAF TOBACCO. 

The method of curing practiced in the cigar tobacco 
sections of the United States, also Cuba and Sumatra, 
is entirely air curing, — it is accomplished by regulating 
the air and moisture, by opening or closing doors or 
shutters in the barn. Eire curing, that is, by the aid of 
artificial heat, or sun curing, by exposure to the direct, 
rays of the sun, is seldom practiced. The modified 
Snow process has been tried with doubtful results, 
although at the Pennsylvania experiment station "the 
general character of the rapidly cured leaf was not 
inferior to that more slowly cured, and the dangers of 
disease were removed." The Wisconsin experiment 
station favors artificial control of temperature and 
humidity, after two years' experience with it, but does 
not state how leaf so cured came out of the sweat, or 
fermentation process, necessary after curing to fit the 
leaf for cigar making. In the Miami valley, a few 
planters put small, coal stoves into their barns, with 
pipe running up through the roof, and keep up a gentle 
heat during very rainy weather or a long-continued 
damp spell, admitting cold air at bottom and opening 
ventilators at top to carry off the hot, moist air. Un- 
doubtedly this same method of artificial control will be 
perfected to reduce pole sweat, pole burn or white veins. 

But the system now in vogue is that which has pre- 
vailed for years. It has been improved by greater care 
in the construction of barns, but it is at best a crude 
and imperfect method, and one requiring vigilant 
attention to details, and a nice perception of alterations 
of temperature and moisture, to properly carry out. Yet 



223 TOBACCO LEAF. 

SO skillful have the growers become, even with this 
crude process, that a good cure can be expected in the 
vast majority of cases, unless the crop has been dam- 
aged, or improjoerly grown in the field, and unless exces- 
sive fogs and dampness prevail at curing time. It is a 
phase in the existence of the crop that is looked forward 
to with great anxiety, and the grower breathes a sigh of 
relief when the curiug is safely over and the crop is 
stripped and cased without injury. 

The first point to avoid is the too rapid drying of 
the leaf. Drying is not curing, and the terms are in no 
way synonymous. The change of color and condition 
in the leaf is largely due to a process of fermentation, 
which takes place in the hanging tobacco, and for which 
a certain amount of moisture in the leaf is necessary. 
If the leaf is dried too rapidly, this fermentation is 
either prevented altogether, or checked to some extent, 
thereby affecting the result disastrously. As far as pos- 
sible, the air in the shed, during the whole curing proc- 
ess, should be kept in such a condition that the tobacco 
will never become quite dry and brittle ; it should never 
crumble when handled. To this end, after the first two 
weeks following the hanging, the sheds should be kept 
tightly closed during dry weather, and if opened it 
should be at night, or for a while upon damp and misty 
days. If the buildings are kept closed, the great amount 
of moisture evaporated from the tobacco will keep the 
air sufficiently damp, even in dry weather. 

The second principle is to keep the air in the shed 
from excessive dampness, which, with heat, causes a 
destructive fermentation or rotting, which is entirely 
different from the fermentation of the curing process. 
For this reason, the buildings should be kept well 
opened and ventihited the first week or two after hang- 
ing, that the fresh currents of air may carry off the 
large amount of moisture evaporating from the tobacco, 



CUEING TOBACCO. 



223 



and also check any tendency to excessive heating. Dur- 
ing the whole time of curing, after any protracted time 
of damp or warm, muggy weather, the sheds sliuuld be 
opened, until the tobacco is partially dried off. To 
carry out both these principles, the shed should be so 
constructed as to permit of its being tightly closed and 
also of its being opened and thoroughly 'ventilated. 
Light should be carefully excluded during the curing 
process, especially in its later stages, as it is found that 





FIG. 01. TRAVELING CUTWORM. One and one-half times natural size. 

strong light has an injurious effect upon the color of the 
leaf. 

Even under the most favorable conditions, a suc- 
cessful cure will depend largely upon good management. 
Tobacco is very rapidly dried out by means of a constant 
current of air, especially if this air is heated, undergoes 
very little if any chemical change, and retains to a 
greater or less degree its green color. Moreover, since 
the process of fermentation in bulk, accompanied by 
heat, depends upon and must be preceded by the 
changes in the leaf produced by gradual curing, it 



224: TOBACCO LEAF. 

follows that tobacco that has been too rapidly dried 
loses, to a large extent, its ability to pass through the 
subsequent sweating process, and the tobacco remains 
permanently of a greenish color. If the tobacco is cured 
in a current of air, care being taken not to drive the 
moisture out too rapidly, a change takes place in the 
interior of the leaf that changes the color from green to 
brown. Finally, if tobacco is hung too closely, so as to 
prevent the free access of air, the color still changes from 
green to brown, but by a different process of fermentation, 
the leaf loses its tenacity and elasticity, becomes subject 
to pole burn and is more or less spoiled by rot. 

The time required for ''curing down" tobacco 
varies very greatly from year to year. Some seasons it 
progresses very rapidly, — so much so that a cure is com- 
pleted in from six to eight weeks ; again, it is slower, 
and three or four months are required. As a rule, quick 
curing is the best. It can only be accomplished when 
all the conditions are favorable. The seasons of 1891 
and 1892 were remarkable for the rapid cures, and the 
result of the cures in these years was unusually satis- 
factory. Some years, however, the conditions are ab- 
normally bad, such as was the case in 1872, when dense, 
heavy fogs settled over the Connecticut valley during 
the curing season, and the crop rotted on the poles, in 
spite of all that could be done to save it. This has gone 
down in the legends of the tobacco growers as the ' ' bad 
year of '72." It is thus seen that very much depends 
upon the temperature and moisture of the outside 
atmosphere, although these conditions can be controlled 
to some extent, and often to a sufficient extent to effect 
a cure. But even with the best of care and the most 
favorable management, atmospheric conditions may pre- 
vail that render any curing abortive. 

Goff has shown that in Wisconsin green seedleaf 
tobacco loses about 71 per cent of its weight during the 



CUEI.lifG TOBACCO. 



22'^ 



curing process. The rate at which the water passes olf 
gradually increases from the time the leaves are well 
wilted until they assume the brown color. The water 
appears to be set free by the leaves, rather than ex- 
tracted from them by drying. The changes in color of 
tobacco leaves during the curing process are uot the 
result of drying, but of certain changes within the 
leaves themselves. Riper tobacco yields a lighter color 
of cured leaf than that which is less mature. Leaves 




FIG. G2. BUD WORM {Heliothis armiger). 



The eggs enlaiged; the worm, or larva; the pupa In its cell uiiclergrouiid; male 
and female moths. 

that become spotted with yellow before cutting, will 
produce a cured leaf that is mottled with varying shades 
of brown. The lower leaves on the plant usually cure 
lighter than the upper ones, because they are riper. 

The period of most rapid escape of water from cur- 
ing tobacco is in the browning stage, i. e., while the 
color is ciianging fi-(»m yeUow to brown, while with 
tobacco that is well wilted at the time it is hung, the 
15 



226 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



escape of water from the leaves is at first comparatively 
slow. Groff thinks this " furnishes a warrant for the 
practice of many intelligent tobacco growers, who hold 
that it is better to keep the curing house nearly closed 
for a time after the tobacco is hung, and that it should 
be gradually opened as the curing proceeds," but of 
course this point depends to some extent upon atmos- 
pheric conditions, if the leaf is to be cured naturally. 

Artificial Curiiig. — Frear modified the yellow cur- 
ing process for seedleaf at the Pennsylvania station 
(referred to heretofore), as follows, getting a complete 
cure in about IG days : 









Temper- 


Humid- 


Period. 


Hours. 


Advancement of Curing. 


ature. 
Deg. F. 

70-91 


ity. 
Percent. 


A 


42 


To first yellowing, 


69-85 


B 


28 


To first browning, 


91-90 


78-86 


C 


24 


To development of tobacco odor. 


90-07 


85-93 


D 


72 


To end of sweating, 


9:;-99 


92-96 


E 


216 


To completion of cure. 


98-108 


95-41 



In this work, no great difference in yield of cured 
leaf was found in artificial over natural curing. But 
the former gave a leaf tissne and veins as thin as the 
slow air-curing process does. The final thickness seems 
chiefly determined by the conditions under which the 
plant was grown. 

Wisconsin Experiments. — Two years' work at the 
Wisconsin experiment station, by E. S. Goff, have 
brought out the following valuable points. 

Moist air is lighter than dryer air at a given temper- 
ature, and hence tends to rise. Comparatively dry air 
entering the curing house near the ground and coming 
in contact with tobacco that is giving off moisture, as it 
absorbs this water will gradually rise through the build- 
ing, absorbing more and more moisture in its course, 
until it reaches the roof. It is important, therefore, 
not only that the curing house shall contain ventilators 
through the roof or in the gables, but that these be so 



CUEING TOBACCO. 227 

made that they can be opened and closed at will, because 
these furnish an efficient means for controlling the hu- 
midity, providing the weatherboarding of the building 
is tight, as it should be. In ordinary weather, it is 
probably better to use only the ventilating doors near 
the ground, and the roof ventilators, leaving the higher 
side doors closed, except as an emergency seems to require 
special ventilation, and the control may be mainly exer- 
cised by the roof ventilators, since by opening or closing 
these more or less, the air, as it rises between the hanging 
tobacco plants, may be compelled to rise more or less 
rapidly, as desirable. But it should be remembered, 
that when the external air is very moist, as in rainy 





FIG. 63. TREE CRICKET (CEcanthus niveus). 
The plate at right is the male, viewed from above. At the left, female, side view. 

weather, this upward current of air will largely cease, 
because the absorption of water from the tobacco will be 
greatly checked. At such times, the temperature of the 
air between the plants must be raised, to restore normal 
absorption, and the only way to do this is to provide 
artificial heat. Placing lighted lamps beneath the roof 
ventilators will help to produce an upward current of 
air, as was proved in our experiments, but this will not 
avail to prevent pole burn if the air that enters the 
building is already on the verge of saturation. 

The curing house should be enclosed in such a man- 
ner that the amount of external air that enters it is un- 
der control, and should be provided with some kind of 
heating apparatus that renders it possible to reduce the 
humidity of the air in wet weather. To ascertain 



228 TOBACCO LEAF. 

whether the air is too humid, hang a psychrometer 
(Fig. 57) between the plants in a central part of the 
barn. The wet bulb in this instrument should show a 
depression below the dry bulb of not less than one and 
one-half or more than two degrees. If the wet bulb 
shows a greater depression, it indicates that the air is so 
nearly saturated with moisture that it can no longer 
take up the water given off by the leaves. This is the 
condition that induces pole burn. Now apply artificial 
heat to dry the air, opening the upper ventilators to 
carry off the heated moist air, and the danger will be 
averted. Keep up the heat until the psychrometer gets 
back to the desired standard — wet bulb not less than 
one or more than two degrees below dry bulb. 

From these Wisconsin experiments, the conclusion 
seems warrantable, that with a temperature within the 
curing house of not exceeding 75° F., a degree of atmos- 
pheric humidity represented by a wet bulb depression of 
one and one-half degrees, when the psychrometer is be- 
tween the plants, and is not exposed to unusual air cur- 
rents, does not endanger the tobacco to pole burn, and 
that an occasional variation to one degree is safe, at 
least if not prolonged. But a wet bulb depression of 
less than one degree is dangerous, and if prolonged, is 
almost sure to result in pole burn.* It will be wise to 
make one and one-half degrees of depression for tbe wet 
bulb the minimum, rather than one degree, not because 
one degree is dangerous, but because it provides too lit- 
tle margin between the safety and danger limits. The 
atmos])here throughout the curing house cannot be 
changed immediately by starting the fires, and if these 
are started as soon as the wet bulb depression becomes 
less than one and one-half degrees, if the weather is 
becoming rapidly damper, it might sometimes be 
difficult to prevent the atmosphere within from be- 
coming so damp as to register less than one degree 



CUKIlSrG TOBACCO. 



229 



of depression for the wet bulb before the fires could 
prevent it. 

After two seasons' trial of this, what may be called 
scientific, method of curing, Goff feels warranted "in 
commending it to the attention of all who aim to pro- 




FIG. 64. LEAF INJURED BY RED-LEGGED GRASSHOPPER. 



duce the first quality of air-cured cigar tobacco. It has 
the advantage of curing the crop under the best known 
conditions, and hence, of developing the highest possible 
quality. It demands a somewhat more expensive build- 



230 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ing, and a greater amount of care and intelligence than 
the average Wisconsin tobacco grower lias been accus- 
tomed to devote to his crop. But 'what is worth doing 
at all is worth doing well,' and as a rule, a business 
will prove most profitable when conducted in the best 
manner." 

On a single morning during the curing season, a 
very perceptible odor of pole burn pervaded the build- 
ing, and the wet bulb depression was considerably less 
than one degree. But fire was immediately started, and 
in twenty-four hours the ominous odor was almost en- 
tirely dispelled, while the psychrometer registered a frac- 
tion over one degree. A very slight amount of pole- 
burned tobacco was found in the crop, but not more 
than is usually found in dry seasons, while the general 
quality, so far as the curing was concerned, was pro- 
nounced superior. 

The heating apparatus for this purpose may be like 
that used in the Snow barn (see Fig. 43), or in the Yel- 
low tobacco barn (Fig. 39). Another arrangement is 
that suggested by Goff, as shown in Fig. 58, which is 
especially adapted to tobacco barns now in use. It can 
be put in at a first cost of $25 to $75, according to the size 
of the house. The increased value of a single crop saved 
from a severe attack of pole burn by this system would 
more than repay the cost, and if, by being able to ex- 
clude hot and dry winds, the crop may be cured slowly 
in dry seasons, the apparatus may be made to pay for 
itself every year. We are not aware that the experimenl 
has ever been tried in this country, but it would be feasi- 
ble to provide pans, or tubs, of water on the floor of the 
tobacco house, which, by evaporating, would furnish 
the necessary humidity during a hot and dry period 
that otherwise might cure the tobacco too quickly. 
With the heating apparatus, tobacco may be hung a 
little closer than would otherwise be prudent, thus 



CURING TOBACCO. 231 

permitting a somewhat smaller building for a given 
acreage. 

If a new curing house is to be provided with the 
heating apparatus, it would be well to build it two feet 
higher than the needs of the tobacco alone would re- 
quire, to provide more room for the pipes beneath the 
lower tier. Goff thinks a curing house 100 feet long 
would be sufficiently warmed with four 36-inch box 
stoves, carrying seven-inch pipe, placed as shown in 
Fig. 58. The stove should be let into a little basement, 
bricked or stoned up beneath the sills. The pipes 
should start from the ground level, and rise eight or ten 
inches to the rod. If they come in the way of hanging 
tobacco, remove a sufficient number of plants to make 
room. They may be supported on temporary brick 
piers, or suspended by wires from the poles carrying the 
tobacco. That portion of the pipes extending outside 
of the building will be more durable if made of galva- 
nized iron, and should be capped with spark arresters, 
but the remainder may be of common sheet iron. No 
difficulty is experienced in securing a good draft, and if 
the tobacco is not hung too thickly, the humidity of the 
air in a tight tobacco barn will be found to respond read- 
ily to the heat from the stoves, even where a very little 
fire is used. After the curing is completed, the pipes 
are taken down and stored for use next year. 

Curing Leaf Alone vs. Ctiring on Stalk. — The bulk 
of the cigar leaf grown in the United States is cured on 
the stalk, — that is, the plant is cut up at the bottom, 
allowed to wilt, and then the entire plant is hung in the 
barn, as described in the chapter on cigar leaf. In Flor- 
ida, however, the crop is largely harvested leaf by leaf, 
as described in the chapter on Florida tobacco. The 
cost of handling each leaf separately was about one-third 
higher than l)y the stalk system, at the Pennsylvania sta- 
tion, and was quite as large at the North Carolina station 



333 TOBACCO LEAF. 

(see Page 216). Wagner declares that "if the leaf is 
picked before it is ripe, it needs a iDrocess of subsequent 
ripening to give it a good quality. This is impossible if 
the leaf is separated from the stalk, but it takes place to 
perfection under the American method" (the leaves 
cured while still attached to the stalk) ; but if the leaf 
process is used, the leaf would certainly not be picked 
before it is ripe. German authorities maintain that the 
weight of tobacco leaves cured on the stalk is 15 per 
cent greater than that of leaves cured separate from the 
stalk, due to the translocation of matter from stalk to 
leaf during ripening after the harvest. Behrens, how- 
ever, has shown that the current of solids is from leaf to 
vein, thence to rib, and thence to stalk, and not the 
reverse. Frear found nothing to indicate any marked 
gain in weight as the result of slow ripening or curing 
on the stalk. Eesults by Carpenter, in North Carolina, 
on yellow leaf, point in the same direction. Nessler 
long ago pointed out that the leaf cured on the 
stalk, and separate from it, showed no appreciable differ- 
ence in weight. At the Pennsylvania station, 1000 
leaves cured on the stalk weighed, when stemmed, 116 
ounces ; 1000 leaves harvested more nearly ripe, and 
cured leaf by leaf, yielded 151 ounces of stemmed leaf, 
the precise gain varying with the ripeness of the leaves. 
It will be seen, therefore, that opinions are widely 
divergent, among both practical tobacco growers and sci- 
entists, concerning the good and bad points of the single 
leaf system. Yet the fact that it is but little employed 
in the seedleaf sections is no argument against it. Frear 
found that the ripest of the stalk-cured leaves were 
thinner than the less mature leaves harvested separately. 



CHAPTER XI. 

PESTS OF TOBACCO — DISEASES, INSECTS, THE ELEMENTS. 

Following the chapter on curing, we will first dis- 
cuss the troubles or diseases that are met with in curing 
tobacco. Chief among these is pole burn. "This trouble," 
says E. S. Goff, ''appears as dark spots near the mid- 
rib or vein ; under favorable conditions it spreads rap- 
idly, discoloring and rotting the whole leaf, and often 
destroying the entire crop in 24 to 36 hours. It is 
caused by two fungous enemies : First, a sort of mold, 
which attacks the outside of the leaf and lays the inte- 
rior open to the invasion of bacteria, which (second) 
then develop rapidly, causing the principal mischief. 
The development of the disease is chiefly controlled by 
atmospheric conditions, being most probable in rather 
warm, very humid air. A nearly cured, dry leaf is not 
liable to attack. A temperature above 100° F., or below 
40°, greatly retards its activity ; but one of ?0°-90° is 
most favorable. If we can control moisture and tem- 
perature conditions, we can prevent injury from this 
otherwise menacing enemy." Examination shows that 
the leaves have changed from a gi-eenisli-yellow to a 
dark brown or almost black color, that the fine texture 
has disappeared, and that instead of l)eing tough and 
elastic, the whole leaf is wet and soggy, and tears almost 
with a touch, falling of its own weight from the stalk. 

Something has been done at the Wisconsin exper- 
iment station to combat this disease (as described in the 
preceding chapter), and considerable has been accom- 
plished at the Connecticut station by Dr. W. C. Sturgis. 

233 



234 TOBACCO LEAF. 

It appears from liis work, as well as from the experience 
of practical growers, that a crop is very seldom cured at 
the North without showing some traces of disease. 
Even during the most favorable seasons, tlie disease 
makes its appearance in the center of the curing barn, 
where the temperature is higher, and the moisture more 
retained in and about the leaves, whereas, in unfavorable 
seasons, the loss often amounts to practically the entire 
crop. Nor is it confined to the seedleaf sections, being 
common in the heavy shipj)ing and yellow districts. It 
is not the mold {Oladisporium) that does the mischief 
so much as the bacteria, which cause the rapid decay. 
Sturgis found that warmth as well as moisture is con- 
ducive to pole burn, and this fact emphasizes the neces- 
sity of securing good circulation of air in the curing 
barn, and especially when artificial heat is employed. 
All attempts to inoculate thoroughly cured tobacco with 
bacteria of pole burn were failures. Sturgis regards 
this as partial confirmation of the generally expressed 
view, that when tobacco has cured to a certain degree, 
the period varying from ten days to three weeks after 
hanging, there is very little danger of pole burn. 

The remedy for pole burn has already been de- 
scribed in the chapter on curing. It is to get rid of the 
excess of warmth and moisture, which can only be done 
by a complete system of ventilation. For this purpose, 
Sturgis strongly endorses horizontal ventilators near the 
ground, a similar row for each tier of tobacco and one 
or more large ventilators along the ridgepole. The ven- 
tilators in the walls should open horizontally at inter- 
vals of about four feet, as shown in Fig. 59. They 
should be from five to ten feet long, one foot high, hung 
from the upper edge by strap hinges, so as to be raised 
and hooked up, and occupying the full length of the 
building. When these are all open, the air will enter 
freely, not only near the ground, but also just below 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 



235 



each tier of tobacco. Free ventilation in the roof is 
absolutely essential to allow of the escape of warm, 
moist air, any of the systems outlined in the chapter on 
barns being available for this purpose. 

" White Vein" or "Stem Rot" appears in the latter 
stages of curing cigar leaf, in the form of white, velvety 
patches of long-piled mold, first affecting stalk and rib, 
and later destroying the tissue near the veins and ribs 
and causing the peculiar white veins. This disease is 
also due to a fungus {Botrytis longibrachiata) that 
thrives upon drying vegetation. "The fungus seldom 
reaches maturity on the curing stalks," says Sturgis, 
"for it requires some days and considerable moisture for 




FIG. 65. 



RED-LEGGED GKASSHOPPER (Pezotettix femiir-rubrum). 
Enlarged one-fourth. 



its complete development, hence by the time its vege- 
tative threads are ready to produce the fruiting branches, 
the stalks are too far dried to afford the requisite 
nutriment. After the curing process is completed, how- 
ever, the tobacco is taken down, and the stalks and 
leaves most seriously affected with stem rot are 
thrown down on the floor with the refuse which always 
remains after the curing of a crop of tobacco. Here on 
tlie damp, earth floors and in company with decaying 
stalks and leaves, the stem rot fungus finds all the 
conditions favorable to its further development. The 
fungus spreads among the refuse, and produces its spores 
in enormous quantities. It is not unusual upon enter- 



23G TOBACCO LEAF. 

ing a barn, even dnring this process of curing, to find 
the floor partially covered with the refuse of the pre- 
vious year's crop, the latter often looking as though a 
fall of snow had whitened it, so densely is it covered 
with the mold and spores of this fungus. The slightest 
current of air serves to separate the spores from their 
attachment, and carry them through the barn, some 
finding lodgment upon and at once infecting the curing 
stems and leaves, others being dejDosited on the beams 
or walls of the barn and there remaining to propagate 
the disease another year. 

"Against such a pest, absolute cleanliness is the best 
and simplest precaution. After the crop is cured, all 
the diseased stems and leaves should be carefully col- 
lected and at once burned, before the fungus has 
reached maturity. All the refuse remaining on the 
floor of the barn should then be thoroughly gathered to- 
gether and burned, and the floor should be liberally 
sprinkled with a mixture consisting of equal parts of 
dry, air-slaked lime and sulphur. If the floor is of 
earth, covering it to the depth of an inch with clean, 
dry earth would jirevent the dissemination of the spores 
through the air. A more effectual method of reaching 
the spores in all parts of the barn would be fumigation 
by means of sulphur, kept boiling for two or three 
hours in any iron vessel over a small kerosene stove. In 
the larger barns it would be advisable to have three or 
four such stoves, and keep the sulphur boiling simul- 
taneously in different parts of the barn ; of course dur- 
ing the process of fumigation the building must be 
kept tightly closed, so that the fumes may thoroughly 
penetrate every part. If this were done once, after the 
removal of the cured tobacco, and again the following 
season, a fortnight before the tobacco is harvested, the 
danger from stem rot or white vein would be largely 
decreased, if not entirely obviated." 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 



237 



White yeins, as a disease, is confined to the seed- 
leaf and Havana-seed varieties, and is much dreaded, 
because it greatly impairs the value of the tobacco in 
which it occurs. White veins in the districts growing 
yellow tobacco are desired, because they add to the 
beauty and value of the yellow product. 

Leprosy is the common name applied to a greenish 
fungous growth that attacks curing tobacco in the lower 




FIG. 6(5. TOBACCO MIXEK. 

a, Adult moth; 6, worm ; and c, part of leaf damaged by this worm. 

Ohio districts of Kentucky. The fungi increase with 
amazing rapidity, and they extend even to sound, dry 
tobacco in proximity, seriously damaging it. This is a 
disease that is doubtless propagated from spores, which 
find congenial lodgment in badly kept barns or tobacco 
sheds, or packing houses. All old trash left in such 



238 TOBACCO LEAF. 

places should be either hauled out and spread upon the 
fields, or burned, while the disinfecting of barns as just 
described for stem rot or white vein, is also advised. 

DISEASES OF THE GROWING PLANTS. 

There is probably no crop produced of the same 
magnitude that suffers so little from disease as does 
tobacco, and nearly all these diseases may be avoided by 
proper care in the selection of the soils, in the judicious 
ajDplication of manure, and in the cultivation of the 
crop. The greatest number of diseases to which the to- 
bacco is liable, come from a want of drainage in the 
soil. The diseases rarely affect more than a fraction of 
one per cent of the plants in a field. These diseases are 
largely of a fungous nature, and are now being tardily 
studied by scientific experts. Their efforts will ulti- 
mately give us a scientific explanation of the form or 
cause of the various diseases, but this book being mainly 
of a practical nature, for poi^ular use, we content our- 
selves with a popular rather than a mycological and 
physiological treatment of the subject. 

Rust or Fire Blight. — The most common disease of 
tobacco is known as ''Brown rust" or "Eed field 
fire." This arises from three causes, viz : First, over- 
ripeness in the plant ; second, a deprivation of moisture 
while the plant is in vigorous growth, making the leaf 
perish in spots for want of sustenance, and, third, the 
use of too much heating manure applied in the hills, 
with supervening dry weather. 

Another field fire called "Black fire," which is 
totally different from the red field fire, is caused by 
excessive humidity, and occurs only after continued 
rains of several days' duration, with hot weather. This 
black fire is much more to be dreaded than the brown 
rust or red field fire, for it attacks the plant while 
immature, involving all the leaves, and necessitates the 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 



239 




240 TOBACCO LEAF. 

cutting of it before it is ripe. Sometimes this disease 
will spread over a field in two or three days and ruin 
the crop, making black, deadened spots as large as a 
silver dollar, but this rarely happens. Good drainage 
and a sufficient depth of soil to carry off all superfluous 
rain water, are the only safeguards against the blight- 
ing effects of this disease. 

Spotted Leaf. — There is another disease, similar to 
the last, called ''Frog eye" or "White speck," often 
occurring in tobacco thoroughly ripe. It is sometimes 
caused by too much potash in the soil, and sometimes 
from the taproot of the plant coming in contact with 
an impervious water plane. This disease is most fre- 
quently seen in the tobacco grown in Florida. It was 
once regarded as a sure indication of the fineness of tex- 
ture in the leaf. Forty years ago the Florida wrappers 
affected Avith this blemish commanded the highest 
price with the manufacturers of domestic cigars. A 
similar trouble at the North causes what are called 
"calico plants," in cigar tobacco. 

Frencldng (from the French word friser, to curl) 
attacks tobacco grown upon old, clayey lands inclined to 
be wet, that have been much compacted by the tramp- 
ing of stock, or through other means. Rainy weather 
is also a predisposing cause to this disease, and it some- 
times manifests itself over a considerable area, but if the 
tobacco is closely plowed and a vigorous pull is given to 
the plants so as to break the taproots, a large majority 
of them will recover, if treated before the disease has 
gone too far. The first appearance of the disease is seen 
in the buds of the plants, which turn to a honey-yellow 
color. As the leaves expand, they become thick and 
fleshy, growing in long, irregular, narrow strips Avith 
ragged outlines, the leaves often cupping downward. 
When cut and cured, such leaves are lifeless, with a 
dingy, dead color, and are very light in weight. 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. Ji^l 

"Frenched" tobacco is worthless for any purpose ex- 
cept as a substitute. 

Wcdioon or Waferloon, is a disease that affects the 
appearance of the phmt and causes the leaves, instead of 
curving in graceful outlines, to stick up like "foxes' 
ears," by which name the disease is known in some 
localities. This disease, though akin to Frenching, 
does not injure the tobacco to the same extent, though 
it reduces the weight of the cured product and impairs 
its quality and color. It results probably from deficient 
drainage. 

Hollow Stalk. — The overflowing of any part of a 
tobacco field, though the water may stand on it for only 
a few hours, will produce "Hollow stalk" and "Sore 
shin." Some careful observers think hollow stalk re- 
sults from the attack of the wireworm or the cutworm ; 
others think it arises from tlie bruising of the young 
plant or of injury done to the epidermis, so that the sap 
is not able to ascend in full force. It most probably 
arises from the absorption by the pith of an undue 
amount of water, while i)artially overflowed, and the 
effects of the subsequent exposure to the hot sun. The 
disease is rarely seen upon a well-drained or porous soil. 
The plants attacked with it should be cut at once, for 
they will never grow or improve in any respect 
thereafter. 

A Neit) Disease of tobacco is described by J. Van 
Breda de Haan (in Med.'s Lands Plantentuin, No. 15, 
pp. 107, pi. 1.). It has appeared in Java. The leaves 
become dark spotted and greatly depreciate in value. 
The cause is attributed to the fungus, Phytophora 
nicotiana n. sp. A study of the biology of the parasite 
has been made and various attempts undertaken for the 
repression of the disease. The author thinks it can be 
prevented from spreading, by careful attention to, and 
frequent change of, the plant beds, and by spraying the 
16 



242 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




PESTS OF TOBACCO. 2-43 

plants with Bordeaux mixture, otherwise the disease 
threatens to become a serious enemy to tobacco culture. 

2— INSECTS. 

The tobacco plant, from the period of its germina-^ 
tion until it is cured, is preyed upon by a variety of in- 
sects, and the utmost diligence and Avatchfulness are 
required by the grower to guard against their depreda- 
tions. The first of these to make their appearance are 
the so-called "Snow fleas," which are peculiar to the 
seedleaf districts of the North, and are r.irely seen south 
of the Ohio and Potomac rivers. The snow flea has a 
large head and a small abdomen, without any segmental 
divisions. It is known to entomologists as Smyntlnirus 
horiensis or "Springtails." The antennae are three- 
fourths as long as the body. It is called springtail be- 
cause of a forked member, which lies folded up against 
the underside of the abdomen near its end, which gives 
the insect its great leaping power. Its jDOwer of rapid 
locomotion resides in this spring tail. These insects can 
stand very cold weather and are the first to feed upon 
the tobacco plant, beginning when the two first tiny 
leaves appear above the surface of the ground. Appli- 
cations of the flour of sulphur are said to have the effect 
of driving them away. They are rarely ever seen upon 
beds that have been well burned. 

The Flea Beetle is far more destructive to the young 
tobacco plant, and its ravages extend through every 
part of the United States where tobacco is grown. It 
belongs to the genus Epitrix, family HaUicidce. Two 
species are described that attack tobacco, — Epitrix 
cucumeris, and Epitrix pubescens. The first is black, 
with the exception of the feet and antennaj. The 
second is more oblong in form, but is otherwise 
about the same in size and of a dull black color. The 
feet and antennae are of a honey-yellow color, as well as 



244 TOBACCO LEAF. 

tlie upper part of the body, except a portion of the wing 
covers, which are bhick. The upper and lower parts of 
the whole body, with the exception of the thorax, are 
covered with a slight down, from whence it takes its 
specific name of pnbescens. These insects are from one- 
sixteenth to one-tenth of an inch in length. This latter 
species is especially fond of the young tobacco plant, 
though it will feed upon young cotton, cabbage and 
potato i)lants, and the tender leaves of all leguminous 
plants. When disturbed, the flea beetle will leap from 




FIG. 69. 

TOBACCO WORM OF THE SOUTH {Phlegethontius Carolina), 

reduced one-fourth. 

It diflfers from P. celeiis mainly in not having so long a tongue, while its "jug 

handle " is not so long or so arched as In P. celeus. 

the plant and hide itself among the clods and in the di-y 
dirt. Frequently the plants will be seen covered with 
them and the depredations are made rapidly, a whole 
seed bed being often destroyed within a few days. 

The only certain jn'otection to the young plants 
against this destruc<"ive insect is to cover the bed closely 
with canvas as soon as the seed is sown, and close up all 
openings between the canvas and the ground. Plants 
in beds are also sprinkled with powdered lime moistened 
with turpentine, or soot, wood ashes or fine road dust 
may be used instead of lime, A decoction of tobacco 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 245 

stems, heated to 125" F., will kill all the fleas it touches, 
without injuring the plants. Until the practice of 
using canvas coveriugs was adopted, this beetle was 
more dreaded even than the horn worm. The flea 
beetle at the North is frequently as destructive to half- 
grown tobacco as to the potato plant, the lictle holes it 
eats into the leaves ruining their quality, if not kill- 
ing them outright. The potato crop is jyrotected against 
this pest by spraying with Bordeaux mixture,* and in 
bad attacks the same remedy may be sprayed upon 
tobacco. 

Cutworms (Fig. 60) are occasionally troublesome 
to seed beds when they are made near old land infested 
with them. Canvas covering is no protection against 
them under such conditions. Prevention in this case, 
by preparing the beds on new land some distance from 
the old, is the best remedy. But cutworms are some- 
times very destructive to the plants after they are set 
out in the fields. They sever the stalks of the plants 
beneath the surface. Their work is performed at night, 
or in the cool of the morning, before the sun begins to 
shine upon the ground, or late in the evening, after the 
sun has set. They take refuge beneath the surface of 
the ground when the sun is shining, where they may be 
easily found lying in a coil. Wlien grown, they are from 
one and one-quarter to one and one-half inches long, 
plump and greasy looking. The common, white grub is 
familiar to all, and the traveling cutworm. Fig. 61, 
may be even more destructive. 

*r>ordeaiix mixture is made by combining six ponnds of co|)per 
snlpliate and fodi- pounds of quicklime, witli water to make fifty gal- 
lons. Tlie copper suliihate is dissolved in water (hot, if promi^t action 
is desired) and diluted to about twenty-five gallons. Tlie fresh lime is 
slaked in water, diluted to twenty-five gallons, and strained into the 
(•o])per solution, after whicli tlie whole is thoroughly stirred with a 
paddle. Both the copper and the lime mixtures may be kept in strong 
solution as stock mixtures, Ijut when combined should be promptly 
used, as the Bordeaux mixture deteriorates ou standing. 



246 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Burning the trash from the fields before i)lo\ving, 
jiiid breaking tlie land in the fall of the year, are l)oth 
very destructive to the cutworms. Clean culture, leav- 
ing nothing to harbor worms during the winter, is im- 
portant. When thb/ are found in the soil, however, 
there is no better remedy than to hunt them out about 
each hill of plants, aJid destroy them. Cutworms dis- 
appear upon the advent of hot weather. Enclosing 
plants with stiff collars of brown paper, stuck well into 
the earth, is effective, but involves much labor. Cut- 
worms may be caught by putting on each hill, or every 
few hills, at night, a bit of clover, cabbage or other 
tender green stuff the worms relish, first covering the 
same with a mixture of Paris green, one part to flour 
twenty parts, or dipped in a pail of water containing a 
tablespoonful of the poison ; the poison sickens the 
worms so they won't eat, or kills them outright. Birds, 
chickens, turkeys and pigs are very fond of cutworms, 
and may, under some circumstances, be utilized for 
their destruction. The common bluebird is known to 
have a special fondness for them, and will do valuable 
service in field and garden if left unmolested. Exam- 
ination of the contents of the stomachs of the bluebird 
shot in Tennessee during February, showed that 30 per 
cent of the food consisted of cutworms. During March, 
also, its food has been found to contain a large percent- 
age of these insects. 

Like the chinch bug, cutworms are subject to dis- 
eases, which appear to be caused by attacks of bacteria 
and other parasitic enemies. The Kentucky experiment 
station reports that those affected with the trouble 
would often go into the ground as if to change to pupae, 
but instead died, becoming flaccid and discolored, and 
when recently dead were filled with a clear, yellowish 
fluid, in which were large numbers of bacilli, some of 
them in active motion. It is hoped that practical 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 247 

menus may be found for spreading the disease among 
cutworms, and thus kill them by the wholesale. 

Wirewo7'ms, the larvae of the "Click beetle" or 
"Snaj)ping bug" {Elateridce), sometimes bore into the 
stalks of the plants, but they never attack the leaves. 

The "Bud Worm" {Heliothis armigera), Fig. C2, 
attacks the bud and tender leaves at the top of the to- 
bacco pliint before they are unfolded, and sometimes 
work the greatest injury. One of these worms may ruin 
a dozen young leaves in a few days. Hand picking is 
the only remedy for tobacco, though carefully spraying 
with Paris green is suggested. These worms are always 
most destructive in cloudy weather. This is the dread- 
ful bollworm of the cotton planter and corn worm of 
the North. The tobacco bud worm has been observed 
on weeds belonging to the same family as tobacco, but 
has not been generally accounted a tobacco insect. At 
the Kentucky station, worms left tobacco and went into 
the ground August 10, and adult moths came out 
August 24 and 25. Since their original food plant was 
probably some one of the weeds known as ground cherry 
and horse nettle, it would be well always to destroy such 
plants when growing about tobacco. 

Ci-ickets.— There is a greenish tree cricket {(Ecan- 
thus niveus), Fig. G3, that occasionally does much 
injury to the leaves of tobacco, by eating round holes in 
them. It does not kill the leaf or arrest the growth, 
but the small holes increase in size longitudinally, as the 
leaves grow in length. This insect begins its depreda- 
tions in July in the southern tobacco regions, and in 
August in Pennsylvania. Tobacco planted near trees 
suffers most from its depredations. This pest infests 
blackberry and raspberry canes, and tobacco should not 
be set near them. 

Grasshoppers. — The meadow grasshopper {Orcheli- 
mum vulgar e) is sometimes very destructive on the to- 



24:8 TOBACCO LEAF. 

bacco plants when first set ont, and before tliey have 
become established in the ground. One part of Paris 
green mixed with twenty parts of wheat flour and a 
small quantity dusted on the plants while the dew is on 
them, will destroy these pests. Frequent workings of 
the land will also drive them from the field. All weeds 
and other unnecessary growth likely to harbor these 
pests during the early part of the season, should be de- 
stroyed as a precaution against late summer injury. 

Several species of grasshoppers are likely to be so 
starved for forage that in July or early in August they 
are often forced to attack tobacco, but in Kentucky the 
greater part of the holes gnawed in leaves (Fig. 64) is 
the work of the red-legged grasshoj)per, shown in 
Fig. 65. 

To kill the grasshoppers, the mixture of Paris green 
above mentioned is put in a bag made of thin cloth, 
which is tied to the end of a pole four or five feet long. 
Walking between the rows when the dew is on the 
plants, the bag is held over each and a slight taj) given 
to the stick. A portion of the mixture falls upon each 
plant, and adheres to the surface of the leaves. This 
application is said to destroy the gi-asshoppers com- 
pletely. Too much of this mixture should not be put 
on a plant, not enough to make it whitish. 

Sucking Bugs. — In Pennsylvania, and other seed- 
leaf growing districts of the North, there is a class of 
hemiptercnis insects that puncture the leaves of the 
tobacco plant and suck out the juices. One of these is 
a small, gray insect or bug, about a quarter of an inch 
long, known among entomologists as Phytocoris luiearis. 
In Tennessee, and other southern States, this species 
feeds upon the parsnip, the tomato and the cabbage 
plant, but rarely on the tobacco plant, A larger insect, 
belonging to the family Scutelleridm, known as the 
Euschistus pu7icficej)s, preys upon mullens, thistles and 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 249 

other weeds as well as upon the tobacco plant, but its 
injuries do not seem to be so decided as the first named. 
These bugs make very small holes in the leaf, but the 
damage resulting from them is inconsiderable. 

The Tobacco Miner is a new pest that attacked to- 
bacco for the first time in 1896, being noticed in three 
townships in one county in North Carolina. The cater- 
piHar is about half an inch long, and greenish, with 
a dark brown head. It makes an irregular or blotch 
mine by eating the green matter between the two sides 
of the leaf, leaving the skins intact and the leaf trans- 
parent. The caterpillar is extremely voracious and as 
several usually mine one leaf, the leaf is soon rendered 
worthless, and it is feared that the pest may be widely 
prevalent. It has been carefully studied by Gerald 
McCarthy, botanist North Carolina experiment station, 
and the facts and illustrations (Fig. 66) are from its 
bulletin 133. 

The insect is a native whose common food plant has 
been the perennial weed, Solatium Carolinense, com- 
monly called horse or bull nettle. This weed is rather 
common on dry, sandy soil from Connecticut southward 
along the coasb to Florida, and westward to the Missis- 
sippi. The range of the insect is co-extensive with its 
host plant, and includes nearly the entire tobacco-grow- 
ing area of the United States. It is well known to 
economic entomologists that the natural increase of any 
insect is chiefly regulated by the abundance of its food 
plants. Insects wiiich subsist upon a few species of 
weeds of waste ground must necessarily lead a very 
precarious existence, and do well if they hold their num- 
ber from year to year. When such an insect changes 
its wild food plant for a cultivated species, the rela- 
tively almost infinite abundance of the latter causes a 
parallel increase of the insect, which, soon overflowing 
its natural boundaries, or the range it occuj^ied before, 



250 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Spreads into all regions wliere the new host ])lant is 
cultivated. This has been the history of the Colorado 
potato l)eetle, which originally subsisted, upon another 
solanaceous weed. 

Description of the Toiacco Mitier. — Gelechia pici- 
pellis, Zett. General color, yellowish gray. Head and 
thorax paler than wings, inclining to cream color. 
Palpi simple, not exceeding the vertex. Primaries 
variegated, with a few smoky streaks and a marginal 
row of minute black spots at base of cilia. Wing 
ex])aniie 0.45 to 0.50 inch. Length 0.20 inch. (After 
Miss M. Murtfeldt, 1881.) The insect belongs to the 
natural order Lepidoptera, sub-order of moths. Family 




FIG. 70. TOBACCO WOUM, LIFK SIZE. 

of Teneids, of which the more important are the clothes 
and fur moths, and the Angoumois grain moth or "Fly 
weevil" {GelerJna — Sitotrofja — cerenldla), so destructive 
to corn and grains in the crib. The latter species is 
very closely related to and greatly resembles our tobacco 
miner. 

Remedies. — None have been tried as yet. From the 
nature of the case, the treatment must be preventive. 
The parent moth deposits her eggs within the substance 
of the leaf or stem of the plant. The resulting cater- 
pillar eats the green matter of the leaf, leaving both 
epidermes intact. These surfaces, in the case of to- 
bacco, are oily and will readily shed any liquid, and 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 251 

tliey also i)rcvcnfc any powder from penetrating or ioiicli- 
iiig tlie insect within. It is within these mines that the 
cater})ilhir appears to pass its whole larval and pii})al 
life, issuing as a winged moth to lay eggs as before. 
The number of annual generations is yet unknown, but 
is probably not less than tliree. The insect is believed 
to hibernate in the imago or winged state, thougli it 
may also lie dormant, eitlier as caterpillar or pu{)a, hid- 
den ill the stumps of tobacco or the roots of the bull 
nettle. The most promising remedy at present is the 
extirpation of the bull nettle in all tobacco-growing 
sections, and the prompt plowing under or removal of 
tobacco stumps as soon as the crop has been gathered. 
Watcii for leaves showing the miner's transparent 
l)lotches, and when found, remove and l)urn them. 

The Tobacco Worm. — This is (he great arch enemy 
of the tobacco plant and absolutely sets a limit to the 
culture of tobacco. It reduces the acreage fully one- 
half. But for its destructive power six acres might 
easily l)e cared for by one man. There is no remedy for 
them, but to search every leaf and destroy them. ^Plie 
worming of the crop, when they are numerous, is the 
most disagreeable and tedious woik attending tobacco 
growing. Some seasons there are comparatively few, 
again, they seem to infest every leaf. Worming has been 
done so persistently in many places in the (/onnecticut 
valley that this pest is well-nigh exterminated. Hut un- 
der more careless methods at the South, immense injury 
is done by the tobacco worm, as may be inferred from 
the photograph in Fig. 07, of an entire crop utterly de- 
stroyed by this pest. Fields of tobacco that give prom- 
ise of making the finest wrappers may be totally ruined 
for that purpose through a week's neglect in catching 
the worms. It matters but little how rich the soil may 
be, or how well cultivated, the crop will be a total 
failure unless these worms are destroyed. So important 



^5:^ lORACCO LSAP. 

is tKfe TKwk r^gsttvlievi bj the sneeeesful tobi»eco {4aailer« 
Hat W vitl tMegWct e^efT oiker dutr on tW £umi sukI 
Itaj tluree «4r f«Nir liHi^ the o>r^iai«rv |trKve^ for fauna 
iKUids ia iiNtd«r to li^l this p«^« foe- the pio£t$ o>f ti>> 
)»£««> emhwre viU W> o<ifeer thia^ (>«^^ e^aal^ fwoK 
poitMNMd to tW ;»lMlin to dei$txo>T tbig: xaxecefs&e amd 

TW iomittial wokli^i- of tk^ d^Towni^ «ad d«^r«e> 
tiTe tolneco vonft ]» ;» iqiii<fcy l»r »t » » iaseet of tKe kavk 
skoth o«- ^ ^ l i t yii i g ii»aBdhr> aJtso edUed cite Spiiiax oioth. 
It dmT«s: tke mwffj^liiax trawi the attita«i» wlueli tlw^ 
c«lt€9|)«ttu- aiss«««6i Im raiaa^ tlio for» ])«it of the )mmIt« 
augid maaoKutg: ui tlus state of iHiMobtHtv for hoarse 
togetb^. In tids tlw' tiT«^ ittaigiaatioa of Iiatta&ife$ 
perv^ived ;» r^ergeaihfcMMMi? to tlie ^ptaax of the Sig3p4ttas^ 
Tliefe ar^ cwv> s|)e««« of tlwee wotlis — the totiaeeo voma 
of tlie ^ortb — I *M tj ^k» m H m» «wlni^ sIm>vb ia ¥%. €i^ 
aad cliie cobtteeo wona of tlte Soatli — Phkfdii^mtims 
Cmr^Hmm, f%. SSL Both ^peewe Maj oee«r ia tW Miid^ 
die So«tli, a«id for the p«ipo6e of ^ icaetkal pluatvr 
■mj W eoasidMed a^ o«ie» 1(lMNB|g!li eal o i a l o gKfe kkxe 
had a4^p«^ OT«r tlinr |Nrafi«r nnwnv^ the oae ahoxe 
aiiof»ted luiTiag br £» tke ve^k of eridmee aad 
aa^MNritj im its f:diTor. 

Ute wvflrai ettteis iHaaediat^ apoa its vork of 
de^rucskxi, wakia^ a aaaU hole ia Ike kaf^ aad ^^ad- 
aallr eadai^iiBgr tkk. eoHtaia^ ikself to tlie mvder sai<> 
€aK« of tbe leaf if tbe veatker k dear. Aboat tlie 
seTench di^T ic p&<se$ throogh aaoilMr efiiaas^e^ doCii^ 
its old skia aotd pattio^ ob the balaliHMaits of natttrttr. 
Wbil'e th^ ebafi^ k |»tag oa^ Ike eateffattaur Io6ei$ its 
afxpetite. bat in a ditj or tvo it recorefs and beeoMce 
eodoved vith greater vi^or. acrtiTitT aad Toranoasaees^ 
paesiag xeadilT frooa leaf to leaf, or firaaa pfaaat to plutt. 
grovia^ ia sue and its eapantr for eatii^ asfeil it vill 
e\Wi»»e b^ a lu«;e leaf witbia tveatr-I^Mur Itoars;. As 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 



253 



it a))proaches its full growth, it takes refuge, during the 
heat of Jioontide, among the ruflios of the plants, or 
screens its(;lf froni the ardent rays of the sun by pene- 



^ 




FIG. 71. LKAF ATTACKED HY TOBACCO WORM. 



trating the soft earth under the plant. At this stage of 
its growth (Fig. 08, better shown in the engraving from 
a photograph. Fig. 70) it is a hideous looking creature, 
between two and three inches long, atjd as large as the 



354 TOBACCO LEAF. 

little finger. It has a dark, green color, with a sharp, 
pointed spikelet upon its tail resembling the sting of a 
bee. This is often called a "horn," hence the name 
horn worm. Oblique, whitish, dotted stripes point 
downward and backward, and ornament its sides. It 
has twelve segments or rings ; six true legs, coming out 
from the second, third and fourth rings, and four 
double, fleshy suction protuberances from the seventh, 
eighth, ninth and tenth segments, with a prop leg on 
the twelfth. The fifth, sixth and eleventh segments 
have no legs. When touched, the worm manifests its 
irritability by throwing its head from side to side, eject- 
ing from its mouth a stream of masticated tobacco, and 
chafing its mandibles, emitting a sound like the chatter- 
ing of teeth. Though threatening in appearance, it is 
perfectly harmless, and can be handled with impunity. 

This moth rarely makes its appearance in the day 
until about sunset, when it may be seen with its long 
tongue probing the deep corollas of the petunia, evening 
primrose, and of the jimson or Jamestown, weed, at 
which time it is easily caught. This moth (Fig. 68) 
measures across the wings from four to five inclies, has 
a gray color, variegated with wavy black lines across the 
wings, and fine orange colored spots on each side of the 
abdomen. The tongue is five or six inches long, and 
when not in use is coiled up spirally, like a watch 
spring. Its first appearance is about the middle of May. 
From this time, the number increases until the last of 
August. From their large size, the manner of their 
flight and method of feeding, they are often mistaken 
for humming birds and are called ''Humming bird 
moths" and ''Horn flowers." 

The eggs, about the size of a mustard seed, and of a 
pea-green color, are deposited both upon the upper and 
under surface of the tobacco leaf, being kei)t in place by 
a viscid fluid resembling glue. The moth, in depositing 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 255 

the eggs, flies rapidly from plant to plant, giving each 
leaf upon which it deposits an egg, an audible tap. 
This is done usually at twilight, and after, in clear 
weather. The eggs gradually change their color to a 
milky white, and even before the tiny worm breaks from 
the shell, its spiral form is distinctly visible through 
the transparent encasement. When first hatched, it is 
of a delicate cream color, with a white, thornlike append- 
age. When it has attained its full growth, which 
occupies the period of about twenty days, it descends 
into the ground, when its body contracts and shortens, 
the skin meanwhile changing from a dark green to a 
brown color and increasing in hardness; within a 
week or two it will assume the chrysalis state, with 
a long tongue case bent over circularly from the 
head and touching the breast, making a complete loop 
(Fig. 68), hence they are sometimes called "Jug handle 
grubs." 

Entomologists usually concur in the belief that in 
this condition it remains in the ground, below the 
freezes, through the winter. Many practical, observant 
farmers, however, are of the opinion that this is true 
only as applied to those that appear later in the season, 
just before, or after, the appeai-ance of frost. It is be- 
lieved that those coming to maturity in June and July 
throw off the chrysalis state in August and September, 
and appear as moths. In this way only can the large 
number of worms that appear in these months be 
accounted for. 

There is another moth, the SjjMnx qninque-mac- 
nlata, that resembles the latter so much that an ordi- 
nary observer will scarcely distinguish the difference. 
This is anotlier sjjecies of the same family, and the 
larvse of the moth prefer the tomato vine, especially in 
the Southern States, but they are very destructive to the 
tobacco plant in higher latitudes, 



25G 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




UEVELOIMIENT oF YOUNG KROOM KAPE. 

natural size. 



Three-fourths 



a, A plant which is just lieginiilng to put out the stalk bud and the fibrous roots; 
6, a later stage when the closely placed fibrous roots form conspicuous pronr 
inences which conceal most of the surface; c, two parasites at a still later 
stage, the right one turned so as to show the bud, now of considerable size; 
d, a still later stage, with a short stem and bracts; e, a well-grown young par- 
asite as it pushes through the ground at the surface, its long, fibrous roots not 
yet attached to those of the host plant; /, a young plant which was grown in 
packed soil, with several lateral buds which would have produced branches. 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 2b7 

Worms having cocoons attached to them, resembling 
grains of rice, should not be killed, as these cocoons be- 
long to a family of parasites called Microgaster congre- 
gata, which destroy the horn worms in great numbers. 

Catching the moths in traps, or poisoning the blos- 
soms of petunia and Jamestown weeds with a sweetened 
solution of cobalt (water one pint, molasses or honey 
one-fourth pint, cobalt one ounce), diminishes the num- 
ber of worms, but there will always bo left enough to be 
troublesome. A drove of turkeys kept in the tobacco 
field will destroy a great number of the worms, but the 
only safety is in going over the field at least once a 
week, or oftener, picking off the worms and destroying 
them. The worms usually stay on the underside of the 
leaf ; if a hole is seen in the leaf, no matter how small, a 
worm will usually be the cause of it. The work cannot 
be done too carefully, for if one or two worms remain 
on a plant, they will completely riddle it in a very short 
time. If they are well cleaned out when they first ap- 
pear, much time and labor would be saved. 

Spraying tobacco with Paris green to destroy the 
tobacco horn worm has engaged the special attention of 
the Kentucky experiment station. The proportion used 
was one pound green to 160 gallons of water. Plants 
were thoroughly sprayed July 27 and August 3. There 
were fewer worms on sprayed than on unsprayed plants. 
As to the amount of arsenic, only one-third of one grain 
of arsenious oxide per pound of tobacco was the largest 
quantity recovered by careful chemical examination. 
Only four per cent of the arsenic originally applied was 
recovered. As two to three grains of arsenic are required 
for a fatal dose for an adult man, the station ofiicials see 
no harm in making these sprayings during a dry season. 

There are usually what farmers call two ''showers" 
of these worms, one coming about the last of June and 
the other about the middle of August, or, rather, dur- 
17 



258 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ing tlie light of the moon in August, at which time the 
moth is most industrious in dej^ositing its eggs on the 
phmts. The first influx is easily destroyed, for the 
tobacco is then small and there are but few hiding 
places for the worms, until the suckers begin to put 
out. It is the second influx that is to be dreaded. The 
large size of the tobacco leaves at this time, the presence 
of the suckers and the disposition of the worms, as they 
grow older, to shift their places, all makes it very diffi- 
cult to rid tiie tobacco of this devouring and destructive 
enemy late in the season. 

3. OTHER TROUBLES WITH THE CROP. 

Broom Rape. — In central Kentucky, there is a 
parasitic flowering plant called broom rape, that at- 
taches itself to the roots of hemp and tobacco and de- 
rives its nutriment from that source. It is known to 
botanists as Plielipcea ramosa, and grows to the hight 
of about ten inches. As described by the botanist of 
the Kentucky experiment station, "The stems are thick, 
whitish, fleshy, pubescent, generally branched and bear 
small scale like bracts, in place of leaves, which, when 
old, turn brown at the tips. The flowers are white with 
a faint purplish tinge ; sometimes of a decidedly purple 
color. They are borne in loose spikes in the axiles of 
the bracts. The flowers are all perfect, and as many as 
forty are jiroduced on a single branch." A section 
through a young plant and the root to which it is at- 
tached, shows that they are very closely united. The 
young broom rape pushes an elongated cell into the 
root of the host plant, and soon spreads out into a 
fibrous bundle, robbing the host plant of the nutritive 
elements which it derives from the soil and atmosphere. 
The result is an enfeeblement of the infested plants, 
shown in retarded growth, weakness of the stems, and 
reduced yield and quality of leaf. 



PESTS OF TOBACCO. 259 

When the land is badly infested witli broom rape, 
the director of the Kentucky station thinks that a rota- 
tion Avith crops which are not attacked by it is the best 
means of avoiding injury. Tiie seeds of the broom rape 
are very small, far smaller, indeed, than tobacco seeds, 
and they seem to possess great vitality, remaining several 
years in the ground without losing their power of 
germination, which appears only to take place when 
brought near the host plant. This parasite cannot be 
removed by hand, for its roots are so intimately inter- 
twined with the roots of the host plant, that one may 
not be pulled up without pulling uj) the other. It is 
said that an application of gas lime to the soil will some- 
times prove successful in destroying the seed of the 
noxious plants. Tlie lime looses this property after 
being exjiosed to tlie air for some time. The application 
should be made to the land in the fall of the year, at the 
rate of two tons per acre, and plowed, or harrowed, into 
the ground. A stimulating manure applied to the land 
will aid the hemp or tobacco plant in resisting the 
onslaught of the broom rape. The station does not 
recommend stable manure, however, for this purpose. 
Whatever renders the soil friable, stimulates the broom 
rape to greater activity, when its host plant is present. 
It does not push its way readily through a closely com- 
pacted soil. The danger to tobacco on infested land is 
greatly increased Avhen the soil is loose and porous. 
Rolling the land with a heavy roller is recommended 
w^hen the land is infested with the broom rape. This 
should be done immediately before setting out the 
tobacco plants. 

Hail is a much dreaded enemy from which there is 
no escape, as it is not practicable to cover a field so that 
a hail storm would not cut the leaves. The best j)lau is 
for growers to mutually insure against damage by hail 
or wind, through a codperative insurance company 



260 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




PESTS OF TOBACCO. 201 

organized for this special purpose. Such insurance is 
usually cheap, and is limited to the actual loss incurred. 
After a hail or wind storm, it is well to go through 
the field and prop up all j)lants that have heen beaten 
down, removing the leaves that are most badly cut and 
stained with earth. Make the most of a bad situation 
and save all that can be saved. 

Wi/tcl whipped tobacco is much injured. It can 
only be insured against as just stated. But where 
severe wind storms are common, a' hedge, or some tall 
and close crop, to break the wind's force, is advisable 
next to the tobacco field. 

Early Frost. — Since the perfect quality of the to- 
bacco depends upon curing it at proper maturity, and 
since such maturity may not be reached until danger of 
frost, it is highly important to guard against this con- 
tingency. Even the slightest frost will destroy the 
intrinsic quality and market value of an otherwise per- 
fect crop. The more valuable the crop and the greater 
the risk of frost, the more effort and expense may be 
safely put into means of protecting against frosts. A 
famous California orange grove is equipped with a sys- 
tem of iron pipes, through which water is conducted to 
nozzles at frequent intervals, the idea being that the 
spray will ward off light frosts. Barrels of tar and rub- 
bish, in different parts of the orchard, ai"e available for 
making a smudge of smoke, which is the most practica- 
ble means yet devised. In the case of a freeze, neither 
of these methods is of much avail. Smoke is good 
against all light frosts, and is easily obtained. Strawy 
manure, leaves, rubbish, etc., should be piled in the 
lowest places and about the sides, and covered with hay 
caps, or ducking (previously painted with two coats of 
linseed oil, and dried), so as to be alM'ays dry. Have a 
barrel of kerosene oil handy, some cans, and torches. 
When frost threatens, set a night watch to inspect 



262 TOBACCO LEAF. 

thermometers placed on stakes in various parts of the 
field, especially in the most exjwscd places. If the mer- 
cury drops to 35° by one or two in tlie morning, it is 
likely to mean a frost of more or less severity before sun- 
rise. Then call up the folks, light the torches, and let 
each person take torch and oil can (previously filled) 
and set fire to the row of rubbish heaps previously 
assigned him. If the wind blows the smoke away from 
the field, carry some rubbish over to that side, so the 
smoke will be blown on to instead of oS from the field. 
If the danger never comes, no expense worth mention- 
ing has been incurred, as the piles can be scattered and 
plowed under for manure, or burned, the ashes making 
excellent fertilizer. No prudent person thinks of leav- 
ing his buildings uninsured against fire. Certainly it is 
just as important to insure against frosts, so far as it 
can be done, by such simple means as smoke coverings, 
or water. Mr. E. P. Powell, a successful and brainy 
horticulturist in western New York writes : "The very 
best preventive against frost is not fires, but thorough 
spraying with water during the evening and night. 
When this can be done, we can overcome the danger 
from a fall of two or three degrees. This will often 
save our whole crop. This last spring I lost my grapes 
by a margin of not more than two degrees, but on a pre- 
ceding night anticipated the frost by deluging the 
trellises with water." The same plan will work equally 
well on tobacco. 



CHAPTER XII. 

ON THE MARKETING OF TOBACCO. 

In the cigar-leaf growing States there is not, as yet, 
any organized system of marketing tobacco, such as has 
been developed so admirably in the heavy leaf, Bnrley 
and yellow districts of the South. Numerous attempts 
have been made by cigar-leaf growers in the New Eng- 
land and Middle States to organize cooperative exchanges 
for the sale of their crops, but so far without success. 
The methud followed at present, and for years, is for the 
planter to wait for the buyer to come to his farm. 

Buyers usually inspect the crop very carefully while 
it is growing, and under unusual conditions may even 
contract for the growing crop. Such contracts are usu- 
ally verbal, and are a frequent cause of dissatisfaction 
and complaint. The buyer agrees to pay a certain price 
for the crop delivered to him in good condition, but if 
the market goes down before the leaf is delivered, he 
will claim that it is not of the quality represented, and 
he will not pay the stated price for it. On the other 
hand, should the market advance, the buyer of a crop 
contracted for in the fields will insist upon having the 
leaf delivered. If such contracts are made at all, they 
should be in writing, with all the conditions plainly set 
forth, so that there can be no mistake, and 10 per cent 
of the amount should be paid to bind the bargain. This 
caution also applies to tobacco sold on the poles before 
stripping. 

The great bulk of the cigar leaf, however, is sold 
after being stripped and put in the bundle. The buyer 

263 



264 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



comes to the farmer's barns, inspects the crop, and a 
price is agreed upon for tlie crop delivered at the buyer's 
local warehouse, or shipped to his headquarters. Some 
farmers, however, when dissatisfied with offers made by 
traveling or local buyers, case the crop themselves and 
hold it for higher prices. 

These buyers of the cigar-leaf crop may he traveling 
agents sent out by dealers in New York, Chicago, or 
other cities, or they may be the representatives of cigar 
manufacturers. Very often, too, some enterprising 
planter and business man combines the assorting and 
sale of his own crop with purchases of his neighbors' 
crops. Buyers usually prefer to take the crop in the 




FIG. 74. NORTH CAROLINA TOBACCO WAREHOUSE. 

bundle and assort it themselves, to suit their special 
trade. 

It will be seen that, by this system, there is very 
little competition for the crop on the part of buyei'S, 
except in seasons of scarcity or excitement. The tobacco 
grower is largely at the mercy of the buyer, especially as 
many sales are kept secret because made on so-called 
''private terms." Indeed, it is quite difficult to accu- 
rately report the price at which cigar-leaf growers sell 
their crops, as buyers make every effort to keep the high 
prices secret, while the grower is equally anxious not to 
have it known if he has accepted a low price. The 
whole system is mischievous, illogical, unjust, unbusi- 
nesslike, expensive. It is apt to rob the farmer, it 



MARKETIXG TOBACCO. 265 

sometimes operates to the disadvantage of the buyer, 
and at best, it maintains an unnecessary number of 
middlemen. 

If public warehouses for the sale of the crop, accord- 
ing to the system so successful in the South, could be 
provided at central points in the cigar-leaf sections, and 
carefully regulated by law, that system could not fiiW to 
revolutionize the old method, and greatly to the satis- 
faction of all concerned. A large quantity of tobacco, 
divided into established grades or descriptions, offered 
at certain established dates, could not tail to attract 
large numbers of buyers. Each crop would thus have 
the benefit of competitive sales at auction, and would 
thus get the best price the market affords. Such ware- 
houses would also provide for sales other than by auc- 
tion. It is singular that the North, usually so enter- 
prising, should be so lacking in a businesslike method 
for selling its tobacco crop, since the South has brought 
the method to such a high state of perfection. 

The Warehouse System. — By this system in the 
South, warehouses are erected at a point that is the cen- 
ter of a large tobacco-growing district. There is much 
strife among towns to secure the location of tobacco 
warehouses, because the large daily sales of leaf during 
the season distribute immense sums of money to the 
planters in the vicinity, and tlie town's general business 
is greatly benefited thereby. This warehouse system is 
building up many towns in the South. Within the past 
ten years, eight markets for the sale of tobacco have 
been established in as many different towns in the ten 
counties constituting the "new golden belt" of North 
Carolina. These towns contain 20 warehouses of spa- 
cious size. They engage from 60 to 80 large prize 
houses, ranging from 80 to 120 feet in length and 30 to 
50 feet in width, three to four stories in hight, each 
equipped with all the best methods of keeping and re- 



2G6 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




MARKETING TOBACCO. 2G7 

prizing tobacco. Upon the floor of each of these ware- 
houses may be seen daily from 15,000 to 50,000 pounds 
of bright tobacco. Fig. 73 is from a photograph of the 
wareliouses in the section referred to, that are building 
up the prosperous town of Greenville. In the older and 
heavy shipping districts, the warehouse system has at- 
tained still larger dimensions, involving great ware- 
houses, tobacco boards of trade, banking facilities, and. 
all the appurtenances to a large commerce. Clarksville, 
Tenn., is an example of a town being rapidly developed, 
because it is a center for tobacco sales by the warehouse 
method, while Danville, Va., has long had a national 
reputation in this respect. Much of the vast commerce 
of Cincinnati and Louisville is due to these cities being 
great tobacco markets. 

Selling ^^ Loose" Tobacco. — In the heavy leaf dis- 
tricts, large quantities of tobacco are sold loose, the other 
method very generally employed being that of selling 
the leaf in hogsheads under inspection regulated by law. 
Heavy shipping and manufacturing tobacco, when sold 
loose, usually changes ownership after it has been exam- 
ined by purchaser in growers' barns, and price is usually 
fixed according to weight, with the condition that the 
amount of lugs must not exceed a certain agreed per- 
centage. In other words, a fixed price is paid for the 
good grades, and another set figure for the lugs. Ware- 
houses for the sale of loose tolmcco are now established 
in Virginia and North Carolina, but no such provision 
for sales is made in the Mississippi valley. The ware- 
lumses for the transfer of loose tobacco are quite differ- 
ent in construction and arrangement from those where 
prized tobacco is sold. 

An important requisite, in the construction of a 
warehouse for the sale of loose tobacco, is plenty of floor 
space, and plenty of light from above and also from all 
sides. Attached to one side of the warehouse is a cheaply 



268 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




MARKETING TOBACCO. 269 

constructed slied, into which wagons with the loose to- 
bacco are first driven. The floor of this shed is about three 
feet lower than the floor of the warehouse. The tobacco 
is taken from the wagon and placed in long piles on 
trucks, with tlie heads outward and the tails in the cen- 
ter. This loaded truck is then wheeled upon the plat- 
form scales and weighed, after which it is taken to an 
open floor space to which it is assigned, and the tobacco 
skilfully clumped. A card bearing the warehouse num- 
ber, weight of the pile and name of owner is fastened in 
the cleft of a stick, Avhich, in turn, is fixed in the top of 
the pile of tobacco. As far as possible, the various 
grades are kept separate. The tobacco is then ready 
for the auction, and the owner, if bid prices are not sat- 
isfactory, reserves the option of rejecting these, and may 
subsequently sell privately or offer his tobacco at another 
time at the same place publicly. 

The charges for handling loose tobacco in this char- 
acter are not burdensome. That for weighing each pile 
is 10 to 15 cents ; the auction fee is at the rate of 10 to 
15 cents per 100 pounds, and if the pile weighs more 
than 100 jjounds, a set figure of 25 cents. Finally, there 
is a commission of two and one-half per cent on the 
amount of sale, which goes to the warehouse. Immeili- 
ately following the sale the tobacco is removed in large, 
flat-bottom baskets, each holding 200 to 300 pounds. 

Sales of Prized or Inapected Leaf. — Licensed ware- 
houses for the sale of tobacco prized in hogsheads arc 
numerous throughout the heavy shipping and manufac- 
turing districts, and are governed by certain wise restric- 
tions under State laws. These are generally very rigid, 
and properly require that everything shall be done by 
the warehouseman to insure fair dealing between buyers 
and sellers. It is the purpose of the law that these reg- 
ulations will so cover every case as to make it unneces- 
sary to carry disagreements to the courts, Provision is 



270 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




MARKETING TOBACCO. 271 

made tliat no warehouseman, or any one of his employees, 
is allowed to participate in the proSts or losses from the 
purchase or sale of any tobacco in the warehouse with 
which he 'may be connected. 

The inspectors of tobacco are either appointed by 
some State aiithoricy, or elected by a tobacco board of 
trade. In Teimessee, the warehousemen are created 
inspectors by law, but they may appoint inspectors, or 
samplers, for whose acts the warehousemen are held 
responsible, by the regulations of the tobacco board of 
trade. These deputy inspectors are elected by the vote 
of the warehousemen and buyers, who have an equal 
voice in their selection. In cases where differences and 
jlaims arise, these are settled by an arbitration commit- 
tee. The latter consists usually of three persons, who 
are appointed by a committee of the board of trade, one 
member of which is a warehouseman and another a 
buyer, these two selecting a third to complete this com- 
mittee. Provision is also made for a committee of ap- 
peal, which has the power to confirm or reject the decis- 
ion of the committee of arbitration. The warehouseman 
is obliged to keep liis house in good condition and re- 
pair, the floors fitted with platforms, or skids, which 
will elevate the hogsheads at least four inches. 

Drawing Samples. — In order to secure fair average 
samples from a cask of tobacco, the top head is first 
taken out, the cask then turned bottom upward and 
lifted from the closely packed tobacco, as illustrated in 
Fig. 76, this leaving the entire contents of the cask in a 
solid column exposed to view on all sides. The tobacco, 
by means of an iron lever supported by an adjustable 
fulcrum, is divided in at least four places. At each 
''break" four or more bundles from different courses 
are drawn by the inspector (Fig. 77), so as to get a fair 
idea of the quality and condition of the leaf. These 
bundles are tied in one sample, to which is affixed a tag. 



273 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




MARKETING TOBACCO. 273 

or label, bearing the name of the warehouse, the seller, 
the warehouse number, the gross weight, date of inspec- 
tion and the name of the inspector. This tag is affixed 
by tape and sealing wax, to prevent tampering. If a 
hogshead is resampled, it must also be reweighed. The 
tag bears the date of original inspection, and later and 
last date of reinspection, with the new gross weight. 
The tobacco '^'note," or manifest, as it is called, also 
shows 4;he date of inspection or reinspection, of old and 
new weights, and passes from buyer to seller without 
endorsement or further marks of identity. 

This note bears also the name of warehouse, plan- 
ter's private marks and numbers, and is signed by the 
proprietor. When required by the buyer, the private 
initial or brand must be interpreted, revealing the 
packer if not the owner. This tobacco manifest, or 
receipt, is negotiable, representing, as it does, an indi- 
vidual and identified package of tobacco. When the 
tobacco "note" is taken by the warehouse as a receipt 
for the delivery of the tobacco, the receiver or owner is 
required to properly endorse same. Sometimes tobacco 
is placed in storage, the owner not wishing, for the time 
being, any inspection. The warehouse issues a special 
receipt for this, inserting in it the description of each 
package in the way of private marks and weight, and 
also the name of the owner, the paper bearing the state- 
ment that the tobacco is delivered to the holder of the 
note or his order through proper endorsement. The ware- 
house charges are $1.50 per hogshead from the date of 
inspection to the end of the first four months. Subse- 
quent to this, storage is charged at the rate of ten cents 
per month. After two years' storage has accumulated, 
the tobacco is liable to be sold for storage charges, but is 
rarely ever thus disposed of under three or four years. 

Storage and Auction Fees. — In addition to the in- 
spection fee of 25 cents for each package, tlie owner of 
18 



274 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




MARKETING TOBACCO. 275 

the tobacco pays through his commission merchant, or 
directly, a sampling fee of 75 cents, which includes 
cooperage and nails, making an expense of II on each 
hogshead of 500 pounds net, to any weight merchant- 
able up to 2300 pounds, and over. Insurance is at the 
risk of owner, unless otherwise stipulated. The fee of the 
tobacco auctioneer ranges from 12^ to 25 cents per sample 
sold, and is paid by the seller. Auctioneers of loose to- 
bacco are paid arbitrary fees and salary by warehouse- 
men, while the warehouses themselves charge graded 
prices to the planter by the pile. Commission mer- 
chants' fees for selling tobacco loose, or in hogsheads, are 
two and one-half per cent on gross sales, one-half per 
cent tax, one-half per cent insurance, beside freight, 
grading and inspection, if same has been previously paid 
out; also auction fees if the sample is jjut up at auction. 
Marlceting and Selling. — If sound leaf tobacco, 
well assorted and in good keeping order, the sample is 
marked A, for Admitted. All lugs, trash and tobacco 
in bad keeping condition is marked E, for Eefused. 
Damaged tobacco is Insecure. Casks in poor condition 
are replaced at the cost of tlie owneiv-^ If hogsheads are 
fraudulently packed, with intention to deceive, the in- 
spectors are required to give information to the grand 
jury when called upon. False packing is an indictable 
offense in most of the heavy-tobacco-growing states. The 
samples are placed on top of the hogshead from which 
they are drawn. During the sale (Fig. 78), the auctioneer 
stands near the hogshead which he is selling, and every 
buyer may see the condition of the tobacco. Bids are 
taken at auctions at an advance of 10 cents per 100 
pounds up to 16 ; after this price is reached, 25 cents 
is the minimum bid recognized up to $25, when 50 
cents increase per 100 pounds is the lowest bid taken. 
After being sold, the cask is replaced over the uncovered 
tobacco, coopered and weighed. Planters have the au- 



276 



TOBACCO LEAP. 




MARKETING TOBACCO. 277 

thority by law to reject any bid offered, but in such 
cases tlicy arc charged with the fees. A lien is usually 
given on the tobacco for warehouse charges and fees. 

Buyers may make reclamations on the inspectors, 
when the tobacco in the hogshead is inferior to the sam- 
jjles by which it is sold. Each inspector, before enter- 
ing upon his duties, is required to give bonds for the 
faithful performance of his duties, and for prompt pay- 
ment of all reclamations granted. Inspection fees range 
at 40 cents to $1 per hogshead. At the larger centers 
of the warehouse system the ''breaks," or sales, are at- 
tended by buyers from all parts of Europe, and the 
principal cities of America, interested in the export 
trade, as shown in the illustration, Eig. 79. The 
methods of conducting these sales are practically the 
same at other markets, at Cincinnati and Louisville, as 
may be seen from Figs. 80 and 81. 

Ordinarily, there is keen competition for the better 
grades of leaf. Sometimes there is a fancy demand for 
tlie first of the new crop, or for some special mark, or 
for some special purpose. An instance in point was the 
public sale by Mr. S. P. Carr, at the Eichmond tobacco 
exposition of 1888, of a fine hogshead of Kentucky 
Wliite Burley for the remarkable price of 14,555.90, or 
at the rate of 13.10 per jiound. 

Ill the Yellow Tobacco Districts of North Carolina 
and Virginia, the bundles of leaf after stri))])ing are put 
on sticks and hung in tlie barn until taken to market, 
but much leaf goes to market directly from the strip- 
ping room. Most growers, however, jjrefer to wait until 
spring, when the tobacco is ordered and either packed in 
wagon beds, and thus taken to market, or, what is re- 
garded as mucli better, is packed in tierces (as in east 
Tennessee) about four feet high, three feet in diameter 
at the smaller head, and three feet two inches at the 
larger. In such tierces the tobacco is packed loosely, 



278 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




MARKETING TOBACCO. 279 

and ca:.*ried to market. The weiglit of sucli a tierce, 
packed, is about 250 pounds. Larger tierces are used in 
Virginia and North Carolina, which hold from 400 to 
600 pounds of loosely packed tobacco. 

The day it is offered for sale, the larger head is 
taken out and the tierce inverted. The tobacco slips 
out and stands without supjoort on the floor of the ware- 
house. If two different grades are i)ut in the same 
tierce, some strips of paper are laid between them. 
Each grade is placed in a separate jiile on the floor of 
the warehouse, with a card sliowing the owner, weight, 
warehouse, number, etc. Tlie leaf is sold according to 
the farmer's grades, and just as he directs. The prin- 
cipal markets, however, prefer to have the leaf carefully 
assorted in grades of a specified character, established 
by the rules of the board of trade. No receipt is given 
a farmer if he comes in a wagon and delivers his to- 
bacco, attending to the sale himself. But if shipped in 
hogsheads, tierces, or open crates, by freight, the farmer 
sends to the warehouse his bill of lading. The ware- 
house then pays the freight, deducting it from his 
sales account. 

On auction days, these warehonses are filled with a 
crowd of buyers and curiosity seekers. The auctioneer 
stands on a box set on wheels, which admits of its being 
easily moved from pile to pile. At each one he solicits 
bids ; that is, you are told, if you are a stranger, that he 
is doing so. At all events, he is using his tongue, his 
hands, and his body to the best advantage. His jargon 
is unintelligible to all but the initiated. Meanwhile, 
the buyers are pulling the piles apart, and examining 
the character of the tobacco, as the bids are made and 
cried by the auctioneer. As fast as a pile is sold, a 
clerk takes down the price and puts upon the card the 
name of the buyer. The hired employees of each buyer 
take up the piles as they are sold, in large, square bas- 



280 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



kets, four feet long and wide and six inches deep, and 
carry them away. Everything is cleaned up at once, so 
as to leave the floor sjiaee empty for the next sale. All 
is activity and motion, some 150 piles being sold in an 
hour. The same thing is repeated, until the contents 
of the warehouse have all been disposed of at auction, to 




FIG. 82. WEIGHING TOBACCO HOGSHEADS PKBVIOUS TO SAMPLING. 



the highest bidder. The engraving in Fig. 82 is from a 
photograph of a typical scene at a sale of yellow tobacco. 
Five hundred sales in a warehouse in a morning is 
not an uncommon occurrence. Generally, the first sale 
is followed by other sales at other warehouses, the crowd 
going from one to the other. Latterly, the system has 
been adopted of letting the owner withdraw his tobacco 
after the sale, if the price does not suit him. This is 
done to prevent effective combines between the buyers, 
or to beat the trusts. A certain hour is fixed at which 



MARKETING TOBACCO. 281 

the bids must be cashed. Paihire to comply with this 
rule puts the buyer on the black list, and his purchas- 
ing ability is at an end. The farmer goes to the office 
in the building, gets his m(mey, less the handling and 
selling commission, and goes where he pleases. 

The piles rest on warehouse baskets made for the 
purpose, and are circular in shape and pyramidal in 
form, the hands being laid in a circle and in layers, the 
butts out. These piles .vary in size from a few pounds 
to hundreds. After the sale is over, the floor is cleaned, 
and the work of filling it for the next sale begins. Im- 
mediately after the sale, bills are made out by clerks and 
an account of the sale given, or sent, to the owner, gen- 
erally the same day. The buyers at these sales are both 
manufacturers and speculators. The manufacturers 
prefer to get their stock direct from planters' hands. 
It is then not bruised or broken by handling, and is not 
stuck together when prizing in the hogsheads. The 
warehouse sales are fair and open, where the farmer gets 
cash and where the article is always sold to the highest 
bidder. The warehouse charges are as follows, with two 
per cent commission additional : One to 50 pounds, 20 
cents ; 50 to 100 pounds, 25 cents ; 100 to 200 pounds, 
50 cents; 200 to 300 pounds, 75 cents; 300 to GOO 
pounds, II; 600 to 1000 pounds, $1.50, and 1000 
pounds and upward, 12. These sale warehouses are 
well lighted from the roof, so that the colors of the to- 
bacco may be easily seen. The proprietor of the ware- 
house receives a commission on each sale for the use of 
his warehouse, and cooperative warehouses are also 
feasible. 

Tlte Export Trade. — Numerous concerns, individ- 
ual or corporate, are engaged in buying and shipping 
yellow tobacco, for both the honie and foreign trade. 
After buying it, the hogsheads are replaced on the 
tobacco and it is conveyed to the dealers' warehouse, 



282 TOBACCO LEAF. 

from which it is shipped to domestic manufacturers as 
ordered, or exported to tobacco factors in foreign coun- 
tries. When resold in the dealers' warehouse, it may be 
again inspected and is always reweighed, as shown in 
Fig. 82. Some dealers take pride in carrying a large 
and varied stock, so as to be able to supply an order for 



FIG. 83. 

VIEW OF TOBACCO IN STORAGE READY FOB SHIPMENT TO ANY 

PART OF THE WORLD. 

This engraviiiff, and Fig;. 82, from photograpli.s of the extensive establishment of 
S. P. Carr & Co at Richmond. 

any quality or quantity of leaf. Fig. 81 affords a glimpse 
at the interior of such a dealer's storage house for 
tobacco. 

Stemmerie!< and Strips. — Strips are made by remov- 
ing the midrib from the leaf. They are then tied up in 
large bundles and hung in the drying room, completely 



MARKETING TOBACCO. 283 

dried out, and then re-ordered. They are rarely taken 
down from the racks before the hist of May or the first 
of June, when no mistake can be made as to the amount 
of moisture they contain. They should be in a dry con- 
dition, barely pliable enoagh to prevent injury in 
handling and prizing. When in this condition, they 
are put in bulks and afterwards packed and prized in 
casks, 1200 to 1300 pounds in each. Before packing, 
the bundles are untied and the strips laid in regular 
layers in the hogshead and pressnre from screws brought 
to bear upon them. 

The work in stemmeries goes on from November, 
when the new tobacco begins to come into market, until 
June, and consists of stemming and ordering the stock. 
For the remainder of the season, the employees are kept 
busy in putting the tobacco in bulk and prizing in casks 
for the English market. 

The method pursued in recent years in ordering 
strips is much more effectual and safe. The strips are 
either hung up in a drying house or put in broad, flat 
trays made of laths, and exposed to a drying heat of 
160° for eight to ten hours. When the tobacco is thor- 
oughly dry, the windows of the drying room are opened 
and the tobacco cools off. The windows are then closed 
and steam is turned into the room through pipes that 
are perforated, which soon i3uts the tobacco into a con- 
dition to be handled without breaking. It is then 
taken down and *•' cooped," or shingled, on the floor, 
but the sticks are not withdrawn. Enough of one grade 
is put in a coop to fill a tierce, or hogshead. After 
remaining in the coops a day or two, it is made ready 
for packing in the cask by putting a few sticks at a 
time filled with tobacco in a steam box, where it 
remains for a minute or two, and is then packed 
without delay, after untying the bundles and straighten- 
ing the tobacco. 



284 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



In making strips, the loss of weight by drying is 
from eight to 12 per cent ; by removal of midrib, or 




FIG. 84. STREET SCENE IN THE LOUISVILLE (KY.) TOBACCO MARKET. 



stem, 20 to 25 per cent ; by waste, five per cent, mak- 
ing a total loss of from 33 to 42 per cent. 

The making of strips employs a great number of 



MARKETING TOBACCO. 285 

persons, mostly those of a dependent class, sucb as 
women and children. They are paid from 25 cents to 
40 cents per h^indred pounds of strips made. A good 
stemmer can make from 200 to 250 pounds of strips a 
day. Children assist the older persons by untying the 
bundles and placing the leaves in a convenient position 
for stemming. Each grade of strips is kept to itself. 
The making of strips is a distinct branch of business 
rarely engaged in by tobacco growers. It is regarded 
as a necessary preparation of the tobacco designed for 
shipment to the English market, where the duties on 
tobacco amount to from 12 to 15 times the prices paid 
to the planter. The British duty is 3s 2d, or about 7ti 
cents per pound. The stem is removed, because it is 
worthless, or nearly so, though an arrangement has been 
made with the English government by which the manu- 
facturer may return the stems into the hands of the 
proper officer for destruction, and so be relieved of the 
tax. 

The strips are made very dry, because every pound 
of water which they may carry will be chargeable with 
the same duty paid on the tobacco. Within recent 
years the English government has taken cognizance of 
this source of revenue and now requires a duty of 
3s lOd, or 92 cents, a pound on tobacco containing less 
than 10 per cent of water. 

Tobacco selected for the making of strips should be 
ca[)able of absorbing a great deal of water, for all the 
water it will take after passing through the hands of the 
excise officers will be so much added to the profit. The 
dealers in strips, therefore, otlier things being equal, 
prefer tobacco that will make the least loss in stemming, 
that will ue a great absorber of moisture, and that will 
bear the ocean transportation without damage. 

Strips are made with all classes and grades of 
tobacco, the largest percentage from heavy shipping 



386 TOBACCO LEAF. 

tobacco. The output of strips, however, increases year 
by year in the White Burley and yellow-tobacco dis- 
tricts. These styles are growing popular in England. 
Strips. are therefore made at nearly every point in North 
Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee, where the yellow 
tobacco is grown, as well as in those localities where the 
White Burley tobacco is sold. 

The great strip markets of the United States are 
Eichmond, Petersburg, Lynchburg and Farmville in 
Virginia ; Henderson, Paducah, Louisville and Owens- 
boro in Kentucky ; Clarksville, Springfield and Paris in 
Tennessee, and Evansville in Indiana. There are nu- 
merous other places where a few hundred hogsheads of 
strips are put up irregularly. The industry is rarely 
carried on at such small places except when the prices 
of strips are very high. The make of Western strips 
averages from 28,000 hogsheads to 30,000 hogsheads, 
and those of Virginia and North Carolina 13,000 hogs- 
heads, of which about 8,000 hogsheads are brights and 
Burley. 

Magnitude of Heavy Leaf Trades. — This does not 
vary much from year to year, and according to the 
movement toward primarv markets there is room for 
much further expansion of heavy leaf tobacco growing, 
providing an adequate market can be found. Aggregate 
receipts at the big market places are averaging a little 
heavier than five years ago and more, but not much. 
Taking a total of the receipts at each of the eight lead- 
ing markets where heavy tobacco is sold at first hands, 
we find that about 275,000 hogsheads came into view in 
1896. This was a decrease from 1895, but practically 
the same as in 1894 and 1892, while the aggregate 
receipts at the eight markets in 1890 were about 250,000 
hogsheads. Striking an average, this shows annual 
receipts covering a period of eight years amounting to 
265,000 hogsheads, which fairly represents the available 



MAEKETIIfG TOBACCO. 287 

supply of heavy leaf. Louisville is easily the largest 
primary market, receiving in 1896 about 118,000 hogs- 
heads. Cincinnati followed with 68,000 and Clarksville 
with 37,000 hogsheads. Among the eight leading pri- 
mary markets Hopkins ville stands forth in prominence, 
vv^ith 21,000 hogsheads handled in 1896, Paducah 
17,000, Mayfield 8,000, St. Louis 5,000 and Nashville 
3,000. The beginning of each year, of course, finds 
more or less stock carried over, but these figures afford 
a good index of the general movement. The freight 
rate on heavy leaf, from Louisville as a basis, to New 
York, is about 35 cents per 100 pounds, to Baltimore 
32 cents, to Philadelphia 33 cents, and to Boston 39 
cents. 




PART II. 

Heavy leaf or export tobacco. 




H p: 



23 c« to 

W c S 



"^' ^ iA 



^ -t ■** 



> a 
< o 

K £ 

•^ ■a 
c 
a; 



00 W 



CHAPTEE Xm. 

HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 

The export, or heavy shipping, tobacco is so called 
because by far the largest proportion of it is taken for 
foreign consumption. With the exception of an incon- 
siderable quantity used in the manufacture of cheaji 
cigars, cheap plug, snuff, and the making of sheep 
washes, all may be said to go abroad. Being cured by 
open fires, the smoky, or creosotic, flavor is not relished 
by the people of the United States. It is also too strong 
in nicotine, and it has not the sweetness of taste and 
delicacy of flavor that the air and sun cured tobacco 
has. Another reason why our domestic manufacturers 
do not encourage its use, is its low absorptive capacity 
for the liquids or sauces used in the manufacture of 
chewing tobacco. The White Burley has the capacity 
to absorb nearly three times its weight in water, while 
the heavy James River or Clarksville tobacco will 
scarcely absorb one-third as much. This makes the 
White Burley much more profitable to the manufacturer, 
for he can produce a much larger amount of the manu- 
factured product from a given quantity of White Burley 
tobacco, than he can from the heavy shipping styles. 

When tobacco is cured by open fires, the pores of the 
leaves become surcharged with smoky deposits, and the 
absorptive capacity of the cured product is greatly re- 
duced. Tobacco cured without fires, or cured with flues 
or by exposure to the sun, is much better suited for the 
manufacturer's purpose than where cured by smoky fires. 
On the other hand, the foreign buyers prefer the heavy 

291 



293 TOBACCO LEAF. 

tobacco because it is strong, and may be adulterated 
with inferior tobacco grown in other countries without 
diminishing the quantity of nicotine below a certain 
standard. The people of Europe liave, for generations, 
been accustomed to using tobacco cured, by open fires, 
and their tastes have been educated to enjoy the smoky 
flavor. 

TJie Soil for Shipping Tobacco. — The same soil 
often has the capacity of producing imperfectly all the 
classes of tobacco, but such versatility in the soil is not 
favorable for yielding the highest excellence in any one 
of the classes. There must be a natural adaptation in 
the soil and climate to the growth of a particular class, 
in order to reach the highest and best results. There is 
an endless variety of soils, and there is an endless variety 
of types and sub-types that pass, by almost impercep- 
tible gradations, from one to the other. 

To produce the best shipping leaf, there must be a 
strong, rich soil, not necessarily deep, but with a large 
content of potash in its composition. Low river bot- 
toms subject to overflows rarely produce the best quali- 
ties of this tobacco. Too much vegetable matter in the 
soil, imperfectly decomposed, makes a large, rough, 
harsh tobacco, wanting in all the best qualities of a 
shipping tobacco. Upland soils are usually better 
drained than bottom lands, and the humus from such 
soils, receiving no additions from other than natural 
sources, is not excessive. For this reason, other things 
being equal, such soils are preferred for tobacco. 

One of the most famous tobacco-growing districts is 
the Clarksville, embracing the counties of Montgomery, 
Dickson, Humphreys, Houston, Cheatham, Stewart and 
Robertson in Tennessee, and Trigg, Christian, Todd, 
Logan, Simpson, and some areas in tiie Greeu River 
district of Kentucky, Avhere the soil is not deep but fer- 
tile, the best soils having a dee]), reddish subsoil, in 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 2^3 

which are mingled rotten masses of flint, or chert, 
broken into small angular fragments. The latter sup- 
plies warmth and drainage, the clayey bed retains and 
supplies moisture to the growing crop. Upon such soils, 
the plants will stand long in the field after being appar- 
ently ripe, thickening, ripening, and mellowing and 
storing up oily matter, making the leaf, when cured, as 
soft and elastic as a kid glove. The best shipping leaf 
is produced upon manured lots having the characteristic 
subsoil mentioned. Analysis shows this soil to be rich 
in potash, while the climate is especially suited to the 
crop, producing the best tobacco for export now grown 
in the world. 

Western Kentucky and western Tennessee grow 
shipping tobacco of a lower quality on an ashen-colored 
soil that is light and friable, containing a large amount 
of calcareous matter intermixed with a fine, sandy mate- 
rial. Such soils are very easily washed and gullied, and 
the crop is not grown on them as much as formerly. 
The Ohio river district in Kentucky comprises the coun- 
ties of Livingstone, Ci'ittenden, Caldwell, Lyon, Han- 
cock, Breckenridge and Meade. The lower Green Eiver 
district — the counties of Henderson, Union, Daviess, 
Webster, Hopkins, McLean and Muhlenberg — has 
mostly a soil of sandstone and shaly derivation, produc- 
ing tobacco suitable for English strips, long, wide, heavy 
and coarse. The upper Green Eiver district — Barren, 
Warren, Hardin, Grayson, Edmonson, Hart, Green, 
Larue, Marion, Taylor and Allen counties — has a soil 
resembling the Clarksville district, yielding tobacco of 
heavy body, oily face and smooth texture. White Bur- 
ley is also grown in this district, and a little yellow 
tobacco in Harb county, on gravelly or sandy soils with 
calcareous subsoil, giving a fine and silky leaf with light 
body, but firm and tough and well suited for plug wrap- 
pers. Between the upper and lower districts is the 



294 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



Green Eiver district of Butler and Ohio counties, whose 
product is not of such good quality. 

In the Cumberland Eiver district (embracing the 
Tennessee counties of Smith, Trousdale, Macon, Clay, 
Jackson and Putnam, and portions of Sumner and Wil- 
son, and in Kentucky the counties of Metcalfe, Russell, 
Adair, Clinton, Cumberland, Monroe, Casey, Wayne 
and Pulaski), tobacco is grown mainly on the low bot- 
tom lands and is coarse and bony, wanting in flexibility, 
deficient in oil, but having a good weight. Heavy to- 
bacco is grown in many parts 
of Virginia and North Caro- 
lina, on dark, rich soils with 
reddish subsoils, upon which 
yellow tobacco is never pro- 
duced. Some shipping tobacco 
is grown on such dark soils in 
Maryland and South Carolina. 
A coarse grade of shipping to- 
bacco, almost destitute of oil, 
is grown in southern Illinois 
and Indiana. Some good ship- 
ping leaf is grown in the great 
Kanawha valley and in the 
counties along the Ohio river 
FIG. 86. TOPPING THE PLANT, in Wcst Virginia, the alluvial 
soils producing the best leaf. Missouri's production 
has fallen rapidly, as its leaf has large stems and fiber, 
being grown generally on rich bottom lands on the 
North bank of the Missouri river. A little is raised in 
Arkansas. 

The Color of the Soil seems to exert a great, but 
not always a controlling, influence in determining the 
color of the product. Rich clays of any color will pro- 
duce a heavy, waxy leaf, if properly manured and 
planted with a suitable variety, — one that has a tendency 




HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 295 

to grow thick, leathery and large. Gray, porous soils, 
made up in part of fine, sandy material, will develop 
a thinner but finer leaf, particularly if planted with thin 
varieties that have grown upon such soils for a nnraber 
of years. Varieties that produce a high quality of to- 
bacco on soils to which they are suited, fail when planted 
on soils of a different character. The popular varieties 
known by the names of Yellow Prior and Orinoco, 
planted upon rich, old lands, highly manured, will yield 
a strong, dark tobacco full of gummy matter, rich in 
nicotine, known as "black fat," and eminently fitted 
for the German market. Planted upon light, new lands, 
tlie product of the same varieties is yellow, mottled or 
piebald, fine-flavored, sweet and fragrant. If the same 
variety of tobacco be planted in two fields in situations 
precisely similar, and soils of like character, one field 
being freshly cleared from the forest, and the other long 
cleared, but with its fertility preserved, the product of 
the first will be brighter in color when cured by artificial 
heat or by the desiccating influence of the sun and air, 
finer in texture and sweeter in flavor, and have less nico- 
tine in its composition than that grown on the old land. 
The first will be in demand for domestic manufacture 
and consumption, and the latter for shipping purposes. 
The product of new lands, if properly cured and man- 
aged, is for the most part profitable if suited for manu- 
facturing purposes, but if the soils of the new lands are 
red, and otherwise unsuited to the growth of manufac- 
turing tobacco, the product of the old, highly manured 
lots makes the most valuable commodity. 

Preparation of the Soil. — No crop requires a more 
careful preparation of the soil for its successful growth, 
tlum tobacco of any variety. Most of the cultivation, 
indeed, should be performed before the plants are set in 
the ground, and in order to do this the land intended 
for tobacco, if a clayey loam, should be well and deeply 



296 TOBACCO LEAF. 

broken in the fall by a turning plow drawn by two or 
three horses or mules. The land should not be closely 
plowed, but left in ridges, the advantage of this being 
that a much larger surface is exposed to the ameliorating 
effects of the winter freezes. If the depth of the furrow 
should be eight inches, the ridge would probably be 
from twelve to fifteen inches high, allowing a portion of 




FIO. 87. THE SUCKER, TO BE REMOVED. 

the dirt to fall back in tlie furrow and another portion 
to be thrown over in the previously run furrow. 

If the section of one of these ridges is an equilateral 
triangle, the surface exposure will be increased one- 
third, and two-thirds will reap the direct benefit of the 
freezes. The freezes and thaws alternating will pulver- 
ize and mellow the soil and put it in such a fine mechan- 
ical condition, that the subsequent rebreaking in the 
following February or March will put it in prime order 
for the growth of any crop. Upon land so prepared, the 
roots of plants have a wide pasture ground, where they 
may range in search of food without let or hindrance. 
The air can penetrate such a soil easily, and the capillary 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 297 

attraction induced by sucli pulverization brings moisture 
from the subsoil in seasons of the greatest drouth. 
And not the least of tlie benetieial effects of such a prep- 
aration is the ease with which the superfluous water may 
be absorbed, for the greatest of all enemies to tlie tobacco 
plant is standing water. The first breaking, in the 
autumn, should take place, if possible, before vegetation 
is killed by frosts, especially if old meadows, clover ])as- 
ture or stubble lands are selected for the tobacco crop of 
the next year. Dead grasses plowed under after mid- 
winter injure the succeeding crop, by rendering the soil 
too porous and thirsty. Better far, if the breaking up 
is delayed, to burn off all dead vegetable matter. This 
burning will, at least, destroy the larvae of insects and 
worms, which often prey upon the plants when first set 
out, not only destroying them, but making it impossible 
to grow a crop of tobacco that will be uniform in size, 
color or quality. This second plowing should only be 
half as deep as the first, unless the furrows are run so 
close together that the slice cut by the plow will be only 
half reversed. 

Manuring. — Consult Chapters V and VI. Previ- 
ous to the second bi'eaking in the spring, all the manure 
which can be gathered from the stables, the barnyards 
and the poultry yards, and all the trash from the tobacco 
barns, including the stalks and ashes, should be hauled 
upon the land, and especially upon those spots tliat need 
it the most. It ought to be so distributed that the 
whole field intended for the tobacco crt)p should be 
made, as far as possible, uniformly fertile, in order tliat 
the crop may be uniform in size and character. Such 
crops always command a better price, other things being 
equal, than one in which there is tobacco of every size, 
color and quality. A favorite place for gi-owing heavy 
tobacco is the place where hogs have been fatted the 
previous autumn. If broken up as soon as the hogs are 



298 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



removed and before the rains have washed the substance 
from the droppings, a very ricli, lieav}' leaf may be pro- 
duced. Good farmers keep two places for hog pens, so 
as to alternate with corn and tobacco. 

It is almost impossible for the grower of rich to- 
bacco to use too much manure, if it is well rotted and 
thoroughly incorporated with the soil. Mistakes are 
often made, however, in applying large quantities of 
fresh manure from the stables just before the land is set 
in tobacco. This almost always results in impairing the 




FIG. 88. CUTTING HEAVY TOBACCO. 

quality of the tobacco, by causing field fire. It is far 
better to compost all stable manure with rich dirt, ashes, 
tobacco stalks, etc., and let the fermentation cease be- 
fore its application to the tobacco field. Far better 
results will be obtained. Commercial fertilizers are 
coming into general use, while planters are more careful 
to save and compost all possible sources of plant food 
about the farm. 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 299 

Laying off the Land. — After tlie second plowing, 
the land may be left nntil the plants are nearly ready to 
.set. When the plants in the seed beds have leaves on 
them two inches loug, the planter should proceed to give 
the final preparation to his land previous to setting the 
crop. It should, first of all, be well harrowed until the 
surface is thoroughly pulverized to the depth of two or 
three inches. It must then be laid off in rows three and 
one-half feet each way, and at the points of intersection, 
a heaping teaspoonful or more of some good guano or 
superphosphate of lime, or a little well-rotted manure or 
old ashes, may be dropped at each crossing, and the hill 
made over tlie fertilizer with a hand hoe, care being 
taken to incorjDorate the fertilizer well with the soil. 
The hills need not be large or high. The tops should 
be cut off with the general level of the land, and patted, 
so as to give the hills compactness enough to retain 
moisture. 

Many farmers lay off their tobacco land three feet 
by four, which has the merit of giving a few more plants 
to the acre, and at the same time permits the cultivation 
of the crop to continue for a longer period with less 
injury to the plants from the bruising and breaking of 
the leaves. If the wide rows are run north and south, 
more of the sunlight reaches the leaves, and matures 
them more evenly. With wide rows in one direction, 
the work of worming and suckering is more easily per- 
formed, and fewer leaves are torn or broken in working 
between the rows. 

A few years ago, when the ''black fat" German 
styles were in the greatest demand, and at the highest 
prices, several intelligent farmers tried the experiment 
of increasing the distance between the plants to four 
feet each way, believing tliat increased space would give 
greater room for development and expansion. While a 
few were pleased with the results, the practice has been 



300 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 301 

generally abandoned, not because tbe quality of the 
product is not improved, but because there is too much 
land cultivated for tlie number of pounds of tobacco 
made. Planted 3x4 feet, there are 3630 plants to the 
acre ; 3^x3^, 3556, and 4x4, 2725. This made a differ- 
ence of over 800 plants to the acre, which will not be 
compensated for by the slightly .increased quality of the 
tobacco produced when planted at the distance of four 
feet each way. 

Now and then a planter will be found who prefers 
the^rows to be laid off 3x3 feet, or 3ft. 3 in.x3 ft. 3 in. 
This is too close, except for some very small varieties of 
tobacco. Planted as closely as this, tlie leaves, being 
very much shaded, do not secrete the gum and oils nec- 
essary to give the product the finish and beauty, the 
softness and body, the strength of tissue and tlie amount 
of gum, so much desired in the shipjjing leaf, l^'hin, 
chaffy tobacco, such as is made in the sliipping districts 
by being planted too closely, by the sterility of the soil, 
by the bad effects of weeds and grasses growing about 
the plants, by bad cultivation, or by suffering the suck- 
ers to grow to great length, has but one market in all 
the world, and that is Spain. It never pays to raise 
heavy shipping tobacco under any of the conditions 
named. 

There is a way of preparing land for tobacco by 
which it is practically hilled by the plow. It is laid off 
one way in rows, at whatever distance the planter may 
desire. The fertilizers or manures are then distributed 
in the bottom of the row. A turning plow afterwards 
throws two furrows on this row, making a ridge. The 
land is then laid off at riglit angles to the ridges. The 
tops of the severed ridges are afterwards cat off and 
patted, and this makes the hills. This plan is preferred 
by many farmers, because of the great economy in the 
hoe work. It likewise makes the application of the 



302 TOBACCO LEAF. 

manure or fertilizer more easy and effective. But this 
practice will not do, either on rocky or cloddy land, or 
even on land that has undecomposed, turfy matter or 
grass on it. 

The Preparation of "New Ground" differs mainly 
in the manner of breaking it. All trees and bushes 
must be removed, the brush, trash and leaves piled up 
and burned, making the surface as clean as may be. 
Remove roots as well as possible, by plowing and har- 
rowing, and then.-. plow close to the stumps with a single 
horse j^low. After another harrowing, the ground is 
checked off and the hills are made. No weeds or grasses 
ever trouble the crop in new ground. The sprouts 
from the stamps, however, are troublesome. The work 
of preparing new ground for the plant involves a great 
deal of labor, but the subsequent work in cultivating 
the crop is much less than upon old land. 

For sixty years after the settlement of Kentucky 
and Tennessee, fonr-fifths of the tobacco crop was grown 
upon newly cleared lands, or that which had been in 
cultivation only one year. The practice among tobacco 
planters, up to 18G0, was to clear a new field every year, 
plant it in tobacco two, and frequently three, years in 
succession, and then turn it over to the cultivation of 
wheat, oats and corn. A few rich lots near the stables, 
cow barns and hog pens were planted in tobacco in reg- 
ular rotation with wheat, but the great reliance for the 
tobacco crop was the fresh lands. Within the past forty 
years this practice has been reversed, and now four-fifths 
of all the tobacco grown in the heavy shipping districts 
of the United States is planted upon old, manured lots. 
The tobacco is not so well colored as when planted upon 
new lands, but upon lands well manured it is heavier 
and richer than when planted upon new lands. It must 
be conceded, however, tluit a much larger proportion of 
inferior lauds is now planted than there was forty years 



HEA.VT SHIPPING TOBACCO. 



303 



ago, and this has caused a perceptible deterioration in 
the average product. 

Seed Beds, Plants, Trmisplanting. — See Chapters 
VII and VIII. 

Cultivating the Crop. — With suitable weather, it 
requires about ten days for the plants to establish them- 
selves upon old lands. The first cultivation is then 
given with a one-horse turning plow, which is run with 
the bur side next to the plants, throwing the dirt away 
from the plants to the center of tliej-ow. When prop- 




FIG. 90. HKAVY SUlJ:'l'l>iG TuBACCO ON SCAFFULD IN FIELD. 

erly done, this leaves the plants standing upon a narrow 
strip of undisturbed soil, which is easily and rapidly 
cleared of any grass or weeds by the use of the hoe which 
usually follows the plow. All weeds or grasses between 
the rows are covered up by the dirt thrown to the mid- 
dle in plowing, where it forms a ridge. If the land is 
free from grass, the first plowing is often done with 
double shovel plows, which pulverize the soil much bet- 
ter than the turning plow. After a few days, the 
weather continuing favorable, the second cultivation 



304 TOBACCO LEAF. 

follows, and is precisely like the first, only at right an- 
gles to it. All tobacco grown in the heavy shipping 
districts is planted in checks, and so is worked alter- 
nately at right angles, first one way and then the other. 
No hoe work is necessary with the second plowing, un- 
less the work has been so delayed, or the rains have been 
s) abundant as to allow the weeds to get a start. It fre- 
quently occurs that the wheat harvest and the early 
working of the tobacco crop are coincident. The grasses 
sometimes get a rank start, but if subsequently eradi- 
cated, no damage is suffered other than retarding the 
early maturity of the plant and adding greatly to the 
work. Tobacco is a weed, and though drouth may 
check its growth and noxious weeds and grasses may 
apparently choke it, yet when rains come and the weeds 
are (exterminated and the grounds sufficiently worked, 
the most unpromising plants will soon show a wonderful 
outcome. Of all the crops grown, it suffers least by early 
neglect. Nevertheless, the more rapidly it is worked, 
the less work the crop will require. 

While the presence of weeds and grass, in the early 
stages of the growth of the tobacco plant, seem only to 
delay its period of ripening without doing it any perma- 
nent injury, it is undoubtedly true that nothing injures 
the quality of the product more than competition with 
other vegetation, after it has been topped. Every spear 
of grass and every weed, after that time, robs the tobacco 
of strength and detracts from the quality of the crop. 

A third cultivation with a shovel plow, with two 
furrows to the row and running both ways, should fol- 
low in six or eight days from the second cultivation. 
At the next cultivation the dirt is thrown to the plant. 
Three or more furrows are run in each row, so as to 
break out the middles entirely. This gives a wide, gen- 
erous bed of loose earth about the plant, supplying its 
increasing demand for food. Just previous to this 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 305 

fourth working, it is the usual practice to pull off from 
four to five of the lower leaves, so tliat the earth may 
enwrap the stalk without hindrance. Some planters 
affect to believe that the ''priming/' as this operation 
is called, induces a bleeding, or waste, of sap, detri- 
mental to the health of the plant. This can hardly be 
true, as it often occurs that two planters living on ad- 
joining farms will each have a different practice in this 
particular ; but no evidence has ever been adduced that 
the yield of the crop per acre has been added to or taken 
from by either practice. The best and only reason for 
not priming is, that the lower leaves will protect the 
upper ones from earth burn, and the spattering of dirt 
during hard rains. This whole question has been often 
discussed, and no satisfactory reason has been given why 
the one practice should uniformly prevail, to the exclu- 
sion of the other. With all the leaves remaining on the 
stalk, the plant has more to sui)2:)ort. The leaves also 
afford a refuge for the horn worms. With the lower 
leaves taken off, a larger proportion of the crop, as 
housed, will be injured in the way mentioned above. 

It was once almost universal to follow this plowing 
with a hoe, and make a low, flat hill around the plant, 
but this has been abandoned as unnecessary work. A 
feAV planters "lay by" their crop witli this plowing, but 
all experiments have demonstrated that the product will 
be the heavier and richer with two or more additional 
plowings. Even where the tobacco is so large that it 
may not be plowed without great injury from the break- 
ing of leaves, a stirring of the surface of the ground 
around the plants with hoes, especially if the land be 
baked after heavy rains, is accompanied with highly 
beneficial results. 

Planters differ as to whether the last plowing should 
be with a double shovel i^low, which leaves the land ap- 
proximately level, or whether the dirt should be thrown 
30 



306 



TOBACCO LEAF. 








S 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 307 

to the plant by a turning plow. The advantage of the 
last method is that the plants are not so easily blown 
down during heavy rains, should such rains be accom- 
panied with wind. On the other hand, level culture is 
the best for dry weather. The truth seems to be that 
the one or the other is to be preferred, as the season 
may be dry or wet. A practice recently introduced, 
wliich partakes of both, is to run a narrow harrow across 
the ridges, leaving a square bank of earth about each 
plant. 

In some portions of the heavy-tobacco district in 
Virginia, no hills are made to receive the plants. After 
the land has been pulverized by deep harrowing, it is 
rolled, then checked and planted. The after culture is 
all level, with but little work with the hoe. On high, 
rolling, porous lands, this method is probably the best, 
for level culture retains the moisture and prevents, in 
some degree, the washing away of the soils in times of 
excessive rains. In the preparation of the soil, in the 
planting of the crop, or in the after cultivation of the 
crop, one caution must bo emphasized, that clayey lands 
must never be stirred wlien wet. The baking of the 
soil, which results, often proves disastrous to the healtliy 
growth of the plant. 

Topping, Worming and SucJcering Tohacco. — Top- 
ping, Fig. 80, is not a difficult task, but it i-equires some 
skill and practice, and is highly important that it be 
performed at the proper time. Six weeks from the time 
the plant is set in new ground, and eight weeks after it 
is set in old ground, the seed bud should appear in a 
majority of plants, after good cultivation and seasonable 
weather. These seed, or terminal buds, are called 
"buttons." Topping is performed by pinching out 
these terminal buds, leaving eight, ten or twelve leaves 
to the plant, as the judgment of the planter may deter- 
mine. Topping should not be deferred until the plants 



308 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



are in blossom, but should be done just as soon as the 
required number of leaves can be secured. The leaves 
comiug out from the stalk within six inches of the 
ground, should not be counted, and^they are primed ofp 
or left on, as one may be an advocate of priming, or 
opposed to it. The arrangement of the leaves about the 
stalk in pairs makes it easy to top without counting. If 
ten leaves are to be left on each plant, then the upper 




FIG. 92. 



SCREW PRESS FOR PRIZING TOBACCO, WITH HOGSHEAU IN 
POSITION. 



leaves will hang directly over the lower ones. If eiglit 
or twelve are to be left, the toj) leaves are found nearly 
at right angles to the lower ones. 

The quality of the product is greatly influenced by 
the number of leaves left upon the plant. The majority 
of planters of the heavy-tobacco districts have long been 
of the opinion that not more than ten leaves should be 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 309 

left. A very intelligent minority advocates the leaving 
of only eiglit, and some interesting experiments seem to 
favor this number. It is said that on rich soils the max- 
imum weiglit and quality will be obtained with eight 
leaves; that the labor of suckering will be lessened; that 
the number of leaves to be stripped from the stalk will 
be reduced one-fifth, and that the higli quality and the 
increase of weight will make the profit proportionately 
greater. The standard of ten leaves has been generally 
adopted for the first topping. As the season advances, 
this number is reduced with each succeeding topping in 
the same field. Usually, wlien the plants have not been 
destroyed by insect enemies or drouth, and the cultiva- 
tion has been regular and uniform, about one-half the 
plants come into top at the same time. The second top- 
ping takes place about a week after the first, at which 
time nearly every plant should be topped, unless there 
is a great inequality in the situation or in the fertility of 
the soil. 

In pinching out the bud, one should be very careful 
not to injure the tender top leaves. A very slight injury 
will develop into serious blemishes when the leaf has 
reached its fullest expansion. An inexperienced man 
should never be allowed to top tobacco. It is a task 
that requires the utmost care and the closest attention. 
Carelessness in topping may greatly impair the value of 
the crop, for if more leaves are left on one plant than on 
another, the plants will ripen unevenly and irregularly, 
which is always an injury. Every plant that is carried 
to the barn to be cured should, if possible, be of like 
maturity, in order to secure a uniform quality in the 
product. ♦ 

When the seed bud has been removed, the plant 
makes vigorous efforts to reproduce itself, and every bud 
at the axils of the leaves begins to produce subsidiary 
plants, each one of which, if left undisturbed, will bios- 



310 TOBACCO LEAF. 

som and mature seed. These subsidiary plants (Fig. 87) 
are called '^snckers," and must be diligently removed, 
not only from the axils of the leaves, but from the base 
of the stalk, otherwise the crop leaves will be dwarfed 
and robbed of all substance and good qualities. 

Worming. — Even before the topping of the plant, 
the Sphinx moths, or horn worms, begin to feed upon 
the plant, and until the frosts come they are always 
present in a greater or less force. See Chapter XI, on 
Pests of Tobacco. The suckering and worming are car- 
ried on at the same time. If the suckers are allowed to 
grow long, every one becomes a shelter and hiding place 
for the worms, which find their way back to the plant 
from the suckers after the latter have been pulled off 
and thrown on the ground. They thus continue their 
depredations until the planter goes over his crop again. 

Cutting and Housitig Tobacco. — From six to eight 
weeks, in the heavy-tobacco districts, usually elapse 
from the time of topping until a sufficient number of 
plants are ripe enough to make the first cutting. This 
usually occurs from the 1st to the 10th of September. 
The maturity of the plant is indicated by its general 
appearance. The leaves droop, the tails of the top 
leaves sometimes almost touching the ground. They 
become heavy and thick, mottled with yellowish spots, 
crisp and tender, breaking easily, especially when the 
dew is on them. They have an oily, granulated appear- 
ance, and their upper surfaces are thick with a gummy 
substance which is secreted most abundantly during cool 
nights with heavy dews. Cut when fully matured, the 
tobacco plant reaches its maximum in weight and in 
those qualities that commena it to the shippers. If the 
cutting be deferred too long, round, brown spots will 
begin to appear on the leaves, which are signals of decay 
and deterioration. It rarely occurs that all the plants 
in the field will ripen at once. Several conditions are 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 311 

required, for this to happen — a remarkable uniformity 
in tlie fertility of the soil; precisely similar surface ex- 
posures ; the setting of all the plants of equal hardiness 
the same day, and the topping of all the plants at the 
same time, with an equal number of leaves on each. 
Newly cleared lands will ripen the plants from six to 
ten days earlier than old land, both originally of the 




FIG. 93. PACKIXO THK }IAXns IX HOGSHEADS. 

same character. A southern exposure, a rocky soil, 
stimulating manure, an early suspension of the work of 
cultivation, will all hasten the period of maturity. 

As a general thing, the planter is fortunate if one- 
half the plants in a field are ready for the knife at the 
first cutting. As the season advances and the danger 
from frosts begins, the field is cut clean, although there 



313 TOBACCO LEAF. 

may be some green plants ; for a plant cut before matur- 
ity is much more valiuible than a frosted one. The 
instrument used for cutting is a butcher knife, with a 
thin blade about six inches long. The handle of the 
knife sliould be well wrapped with old woolen rags, for 
however hard the hand may be, in housing a large crop 
of tobacco it will be made sore by the constant pressure 
on the back of a wooden handle. Another tobacco cut- 
ter has been introduced within the past ten years, that 
does effective work. It is in the shape of a spade, but 
only about eight inches long. It has a square steel 
blade two and one-half inches wide, welded to an iron 
shaft four and one-half inches long, to the end of which 
a handle an inch in diameter and four inches long is 
fastened. Many prefer this to a butcher knife. Such 
an implement is much used in the seed leaf districts of 
Pennsylvania. A hatchet is also used. 

Of two evils, it is better to let tobacco stand a little 
too long in the field than to cut it green. Thoroughly 
ripe tobacco has much more weight and thickness, and 
makes a much better article for shipping purposes, than 
if cut before it is fully ripe. In about three weeks after 
tobacco is topped, with seasonable weather, the leaves 
attain their full expansion. After this they thicken 
until the plant is ready for the knife, which is shown by 
the signs of maturity already described. There is as 
much difference between the flavor of tobacco after it is 
cured, cut when ripe, and that cut green, as there is 
between the flavor of a full ripe strawberry and one that 
is only partially ripe. 

If possible to avoid it, tobacco should not be cut 
immediately after a heavy rain. Rain water dissolves 
and washes away much of the gummy matter that adds 
to the weight of the tobacco leaf and gives it body.' In 
three or four days after a rain, the gummy matter will 
be again secreted, especially if the nights are cool and 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO, 313 

the dews heavy. If the weather is threatening, so there 
is a probability that a rain will occur before the tobacco 
can be carried to the barn, it should not be cut. Noth- 
ing injures tobacco more than to be caught in a shower 
of rain after it has been severed from tlie ground, and 
the plants inverted upon the hills. The water deposits 
mud upon the upturned leaves or spatters them with 
dirt. Tlie plants also get in a '* strut," — that is, they 
will not wilt, and if handled in such condition, great 
breakage of leaves ensues. The bad effects of the dirt 
that adheres to the leaves will never disappear. The 
spots covered with mud cure a bad color, and the vitality 
of the leaf at such places seems to be destroyed. 

Nor should tobacco be cut while the sun is very hot, 
as in that case it will be parched by the heat, thus mak- 
ing permanent green spots, an injury from which it 
never recovers. The very worst time of all to cut to- 
bacco is in the morning of a hot day while the dew is 
still on the plant. Cut under such conditions, a great 
many leaves, owing to their brittleness, will break off 
from the stalk. The leaves being wet Avith dew, the 
dirt will adhere to them when the plants are inverted on 
the hills, and lastly, the sun is most likely to scorch the 
plants before they will wilt. 

These negative conditions being given, it will be 
readily inferred that a hazy, not cloudy, day is the best 
for cutting tobacco, when the heat of the sun is tempered 
by the haziness of the atmosphere. In the afternoon, 
between three and five o'clock, is also a good time. It 
should be cut late enough in the afternoon to prevent 
sunburn, and early enough to wilt, or fall, before night, 
so that it may be put in piles. 

To cut the tobacco plant with a knife, one should 
stand over the plant, place the blade of the knife at 
right angles to the two upper leaves, and split the body 
of the stalk down to within two or three inches of the 



314 TOBACCO LEAF. 

lower leaves, Fig. 88. Witlidniwing the knife and 
grasping the stalk about midway with the left hand, the 
cutter bends it slightly from him, at the same time in- 
serting the knife under the lower leaves, he severs the 
stalk. The plant is then turned over and set on the 
hill. In half an hoar, unless it is very cool, the plants 
will have wilted enough to handle without breakage. 
The tobacco is then put in piles, each pile containing 
the number of i)lants required to fill a stick. This 
number varies from six to twelve, according to the size 
of the plants. 

Each person engaged in making and arranging these 
piles, takes two rows and puts all the piles on one row 
with the heads of the plants towards the sun. The next 
two rows are piled on the row adjacent to the first row 
of piles. That is to say, four rows of tobacco are piled 
upon two adjacent rows. The object of piling it in this 
manner is to give an opening wide enough for a wagon 
to pass. The stick dropper follows, who places one 
stick at each pile. These sticks are usually rived from 
red oak or hickory, and are about -i^ feet long a)id about 
lxl|- inches thick. 

To hang the tobacco, a stick is punched down in 
the soft hill, making an angle of about 45 to 60 degrees 
with the surface of the ground, and sloping a little east 
of north. The object in sloping it in this direction is to 
give protection to the leaves from the heat of the sun 
during the hottest parts of the day. The j)lants are 
taken up one at a time and straddled over the stick, 
with the heads to the south or southwest, Fig. 89. 
When all the plants in the pile are put upon the stick, 
the tails of the leaves are drawn closely together and 
tucked under, so as to expose as little surface as possible. 
When the tobacco has been hung, it is ready to be car- 
ried to the curing house or to a scaffold. Some tobacco 
is still put upon scaffolds in the heavy-tobacco-growing 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 315 

regions, and it is a good practice, if the weather is fair. 
If tobacco is very heavy and the distance to the curing- 
house is as much as half a mile, much time may be 
saved by scaffolding in the field for several days. Then 
double the quantity may be hauled in a load. But if 
there is a foreshadowing of rain or stormy weather, it is 
far better to carry it to the bam at once. It does not 
injure the tobacco much to be caught in a rain while on 
the scaffolds, unless the rains are long continued. When 
the rains last a day or two, the tobacco gets very crisp, 
and it is difficult to handle it without doing a great 
deal of damage by bruising and breaking the leaves. 
Scaffolds are nothing but poles arranged four feet apart, 
and sufficiently high above the ground for the tails of 
the tobacco to hang clear. These poles may be sup- 
ported at one end by a bed pole, and at the other by 
forks. Scaffolds are often made in the corners of the 
zigzag rail fences that enclose the fields. They are con- 
sti'ucted by resting three rails, or poles, on top of the 
fence, supported at the outer end by forks or other con- 
venient means, so as to make two tiers, upon which the 
sticks holding the tobacco are arranged. It does not 
injure the tobacco to crowd it upon an outdoor scaffold. 
It will yellow the more readily by being so crowded. 
However closely it may be put, in a day or two the wilt- 
ing of the plant and the evaporation will make it an 
easy matter to put the sticks still more closely. 

In four or five days it should be taken from the 
scaffold and arranged for curing in the barns. Tobacco 
that has been on a scaffold for a few days may be ar- 
ranged a fourth closer in the barns than that taken to 
the barns directly from the fields. In the early history 
of tobacco culture, scaffolds were almost universally 
used. For a time, within the past twenty years, they 
were almost universally discarded. More recently, how- 
ever, this preparatory curing is being adopted by many 



316 TOBACCO LEAF. 

good fiirmers, because by this method the plant is com- 
pletely wilted before it is put in the barns; the texture 
is softened, the leaf yellows into a clear golden color, 
and it cures much more easily and, with care, into good 
colors, the leaves having the toughness and elasticity 
required in shipping tobacco. Throughout the White 




FIG. 94. HEAVY TOBACCO READY TO BE SHIPPED. 

Bui'ley districts scaffolding tobacco is an almost univer- 
sal pi'actice. 

If cool nights threaten frost, it sometimes becomes 
necessary to cut great fields in a single day. When so 
cut, it is heaped up before it wilts in what are known 
as ''frost piles." The tobacco is heaped around a center. 
To begin such a heap, two persons take each six or eight 
plants in their hands, and standing opposite one another, 
the ends of the tails are put nearly together on the 
ground, with the heads of the plants leaning towards 
each person. The heads are then brought together and 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 317 

supported in a position nearly upright by the inclination 
of each parcel towards the center. It is important that 
the tails be kept tucked under. Bunches of plants are 
set up around this center, in the same way, until enough 
is put together to fill thirty or forty sticks. The heap 
is then covered with straw, cornstalks, old carpets, or 
anything to protect it from damage by frost. In a few 
days the tobacco takes on a golden color, when it is hung 
and carried to the barn. Continued rains do great dam- 
age to the tobacco when so heaped. It not only gets in 
a "strut," but becomes dirty and breaks easily. 

The tobacco is transferred from the fields or scaf- 
folds to the barn by wagons in one of three ways: 
Either by hanging the sticks containing the tobacco on 
the upper railings of a long wagon bed, or frame, four 
feet deep and four feet wide; or the tobacco on the 
sticks is "cooped" in piles, the heads turned outwards 
and alternately to one side or the other ; or the tobacco 
is carried on a low frame not more than one foot high, 
the sticks being hung on the upper railings, with the 
tails of the plants lying flat in the bottom of the frame, 
or tucked under. When eight or ten sticks have been 
so arranged, other sticks filled with tobacco are piled on 
top, in shingle fashion. The advantage in having a 
low frame is, that the lieads will lean over so as to be 
nearly flat, and the tobacco piled on this foundation will 
not be punctured by the butt ends. A larger quantity 
can be carried in a wagon in tliis way, than in either of 
the others. Fig. 91 shows a new style of wagon that is 
very desirable for this work. 

A method of taking tobacco to the curing house 
once much used, but now generally abandoned, was to 
have two or more light sleds. Instead of piling the 
plants in the field, they were piled on the low platforms 
of the sleds, with the heads outward, as shown in Fig. 36. 
When a load of sufficient weight was put on the sled for 



318 TOBACCO LEAF. 

the team, it was hauled to the barn, the team unhitched, 
and an empty sled taken to the field to be filled in turn. 
The tobacco was hung from the sleds under the shade 
of the barn, and immediately elevated to the tier poles. 
This method saves much handling, and lessens the prob- 
ability of injury from sunburn or from a shower of rain. 
Sleds were used because they were cheaply made, and 
may be built of a bight most convenient for putting on 
and taking off the plants. Low wagons or carts are 
more easily drawn and equally as convenient, and the 
style shown in Fig. 91 is coming into general use. 

When taken directly to the barn from the field, a 
distance of eight inches should intervene between the 
sticks, when adjusted on the tier poles. Put closer than 
this would be to invite danger from house burn or 
pole sweat. When taken from the scaffold, the in- 
terval between the sticks need not be greater than six 
inches. A good day's work for a man, in cutting and 
housing tobacco, is from 100 to 150 sticks. When the 
field is cut clean, a third or more may be housed than 
when the ripest plants only are selected for the first 
cutting. 

Curing Heavy- Sldppwg Tobacco is fully described 
in the chapter on curing. 

Assortmg, Stripjnng and Prejmring Heavy-Ship- 
ping Tobacco for Marlcet. — After the crop has been 
housed and properly cured, and the colors fixed by re- 
peatedly '■'drying the tobacco out " by artificial heat, it 
is then ready to be assorted and stripped. Usually the 
stems and stalks are not sufficiently cured to begin this 
work until about the middle of November. It is not 
safe to put the toljacco in bulk before that time. After 
this time, when the leaves become pliant through the 
influence of damp weather or a warm rain, the tobacco 
should be taken down, the sticks withdrawn and plants 
laid on a platform with heads out, and tails overlapping 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 



319 



in the center. Or there may be, by making the bulk 
wider, several layers in the center. If taken down when 
the leaf is limp and the stem supple more than half way 
its length, it is in a safe condition, and will not have to 
be reordered before it is taken to market. If the to- 
bacco has too much humidity in it, or, as the expression 
is, "too high in case," it will funk when the weather 
becomes warm. In such a condition, it is too high 
either to prize at home or to take loose to market, unless 
it be to a stemmery, where tobacco high in case is re- 




FIG. 95. CARRYING TOBACrO TO MARKET. 
Primitive method still in use in North Carolina, Tennessee and Kentucky. 

quired. It is the safest plan, therefore, to have tlie 
order precisely right, so that it will not be necessary to 
hang it up a second time. 

After the tobacco has been taken down, stripping 
begins. Fir?t of all, the leaves on each plant are as- 
sorted by separating tlie various colors and qualities, 
and afterwards arranging them into various grades. In 
the same crop there are often many kinds, as bright and 
dark, heavy and light, long and short, tlie result of dif- 
ferent plantings, inequality in the fertility of the soils, 
and of various exposures of the land. It will save much 



320 TOBACCO LEAF. 

trouble if, in liousing tlie crop, the new-land tobacco is 
kept separate from that grown on old land, the ripe 
from the green, and the long from the short. These 
several classes may be put each in a different part of the 
same barn. 

Upon the same plant there are usually two or more 
ground leaves, bespattered with dirt, one or more worm- 
eaten leaves, and several perfect leaves. Sometimes 
there are also leaves blistered with red spots, or white 
specks, leaves also that are bruised and sunburned, or 
house burned. The worst leaves, — the sunburned, the 
dirty, those most badly worm-eaten, — are first picked 
from the stalk and tied in bundles of eight or more 
leaves. This is the lowest grade and is called "Lugs." 
The leaves that are slightly worm-eaten or injured, the 
perfect leaves if sunburned or house burned, make a 
grade called "Low leaf," or "Seconds." These are 
usually tied in bundles of five or six leaves. The 
remaining leaves on the stalk are termed "Good." 
There are various sub-grades of good ; for instance, 
"Medium," which may be short, or poor, or of bad 
color; "Good leaf," which may be long and poor, or 
short and rich, or it may be of good color without being 
either long or rich; "Fine leaf," which has three or 
more desirable (lualities, but is deficient in some other 
qualities. Fine leaf may be long, rich, fine fiber and 
gummy, but have a bad color, or lack uniformity in 
size. "Selections" constitute the highest grade in the 
heavy tobacco market. These combine every desirable 
quality in the shipping leaf, as length, richness, fatness, 
good color, elasticity, small stem and fiber, silkiness, 
strength and toughness, with uniformity of size. 

The best rule to observe for assorting tobacco is 
not to mismate the leaves in a bundle, and not to 
mismate the bundles in a bulk or hogshead. Long 
and short leaves, rich and poor, bright and dark. 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 321 

bruised or worm-eaten and perfect leaves should not be 
put together. 

Assorting and Prizing Tobacco. — The most careful 
hands only should be allowed to assort tobacco. This 
work requires undivided attention, good sight and cor- 
rect judgment as to quality. If, through inattention, 
a few bad leaves are put with the good, it may depre- 
ciate the value of all the tobacco in a hogshead if, by 
chance, these bad leaves should appear in tlie sample 
drawn. Short leaves appearing in a sample of long 
tobacco, or bright leaves in a sample of dark tobacco, or 
vice versa, or rich leaves with poor leaves, or perfect 
leaves with those broken or worm-eaten, all violate the 
laws of classification and injure the sale of tlie product. 

All leaves of uniform color, twenty-six inches in 
length and over, should be tied in bundles of not more 
than five leaves. Such tobacco suits the African mar- 
ket. It is also a first-class "shipper," and is sought 
for by the stemmer for making the highest grades of 
strips for the English market. If of uniform color and 
broad leaf, the buyer of wrappers will want it also. All 
this competition would be lost if improperly assorted. 
Nor should the most desirable grades be prized (that is, 
pressed into the hogsheads) too hard, for the stemmers 
and buyers of wrappers want tobacco to open freely and 
not be caked or braised by hard jirizing. 

The tobacco is partially stripped in assorting, for to 
strip tobacco is simply to pull the leaves from the stalk 
and tie them in bundles. The size of the bundles is an 
miportant matter. If the tobacco is intended for a 
stemmer, and is to be delivei'ed loose in wagons, it may 
be tied in bundles as large as the arm, care being taken 
to keep the different grades separate. But if the 
tobacco is to be prized in hogsheads and after inspection 
M be sold by sample ; or if it is to be .sold to a buyer 
who intends to prize and sell it by inspection, then all 
21 



322 TOBACCO LEAF. 

the good grades must be tied in bundles containing only- 
five or six leaves. Great neatness sliould be observed in 
tying the bundles. The tie leaf should be small. This 
IS taken in the right hand and smoothed out at the tail 
end, doubled so that the inside surface of the leaf forms 
the outside of the wrapper. A narrow band is made of 
the leaf, not more than one inch in width. The baud, 
with the stem downward, is wrapped tightly twice 
around tiie butts of the stems, and then the tie is tucked 
between the leaves. This makes the head an inch long. 
It differs from the tie of the seedleaf tobacco. The 
latter is tied, with the butt of the stem an inch or more 
below the end of the bundle. As eacli bundle is tied, it 
should be run through the hands, well straightened and 
compressed and laid carefully in piles. 

During the prevalence of dry winds or cold weather, 
the exposed portion of tobacco, even when in bulk, 
becomes so dry that it may not be handled without 
doing it great injury. To prevent this, blankets, or 
straw, or a wagon sheet, should be put all around the 
bulk. This covering, kept damp, will jn'event the 
exposed leaves, or parts of leaves, from drying. 

By providing a close room heated by a stove, with 
a vessel of water on top, stripping may be carried on 
during very severe cold wcatlu'r. Otherwise the tobacco 
will become very dry and harsh and will be damaged by 
breaking or crumbling. 

However good the order of the tobacco when hang- 
ing up may apparently be in cold weather, it should not 
be taken down from tiie tier poles, for if a warm spell of 
weather should supervene, it is almost certain to become 
soured or "funked." Much tobacco is damaged beyond 
remedy by not observing this caution. Many planters, 
by taking their product to market in a condition that it 
will not pass the ordeal of the spring fermentation, lose 
all their profits. Those who buy it in this condition 



HEAYY SHIPPIJSTG TOBACCO. 323 

are compelled to rehandle it. More money is made by 
properly assorting, handling and '^ ordering" the to- 
bacco crop than by growing it. When the crop is 
hurried to market in a condition that it will not keep, 
the rehandlers of tobacco and the local manufacturers 
are the only competitors for it. The foreign buyers are 
excluded by its unsafe condition. 

It must not be inferred that, it is necessary to bulk 
the tobacco before it can be stripped. Many successful 
managers of tobacco prefer to take it down from the 
tier poles only as it is required for stripping. The 
leaves are much more readily examined by this method, 
for they are not pressed together as they are after lying in 
bulk. Much time is, therefore, saved in assorting. The 
chief advantages in having it in bulk are : 1. That 
it is always in condition to be handled, and in bad 
weather the time may be utilized in stripping, while the 
tobacco if hanging up would be dry. 2. If taken 
down in the right condition or order, it need not be 
rehung on the sticks and tier poles after it is stripped. 
3. It is less liable to bo weather-beaten, or broken by 
winds that sometimes find entrance to the barns. 
Tobacco is also injured by frequent alternations of dry- 
ness and humidity, and these changes cannot take place 
when in bulk. 

" Ordering" Heavy Shipping Leaf. — Should it hap- 
pen that the tobacco, when stripped, is too high in case 
for prizing, it must be rehung on the sticks. It often 
occurs that the leafy part is in right order, but the stem 
is too damp, or the reverse may happen, that the stem 
is in right condition, but the leafy part is either too dry 
or too damp. The leafy part should be pliant, but not 
suflBciently so to show translucent spots when pressed 
between the finger and thumb. The stems should be 
pliant, but not limp, and they should break a few inches 
below the head when the bundle is bent at right angles. 



su 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




FIG. 96. A TYPKAI. NKCKt) AVAREHOUSK HEI.PKH. 

•*I'se Jeeras Johnson, what ' breaks ' tobacco in Carr & Go's warehouse, I is." 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 325 

Even when it becomes necessary to reorder tobacco, it 
is not expedient to attempt to do so during the winter 
months. And it is best not to hang it on the tier poles 
until spring approaches, for during the winter the 
snows are apt to beat in upon it. The winds injure it, 
and if the weatlier becomes very moist, the heads fall to 
one side and get into a crooked condition, not easily 
straightened. When stripped too high, let I(J or 18 
bundles be put on a stick, and '* shingle" the sticks, 
filled with tobacco, on an elevated platform, making 
*' coops" four or five feet high. The sticks give venti- 
lation to the interior of the pile, and lessen the danger 
to be apprehended from funking, even should warm 
weather ensue. 

When tlie drying winds of spring come, the sticks 
sliould be elevated to the tier poles so the tobacco may 
be "dried out." Tiie first warm rain tliat comes will 
put it in suitable condition to take down again. A 
careful watch should be kept tliat it does not get too 
higii in case. It should be "struck" down just before 
it appears to be sufficiently high in case, for the growing 
humidity continues a while, even after it is taken down. 
Some of the best "ordering" seasons come without a 
drop of rain. A warm, South wind surcharged with 
moisture will do the work of ordering much more 
uniformly than a rain. A "coming season " only should 
be utilized, that is to say, when the tobacco goes from a 
dry to a humid condition. A "'going out seiison"is 
when it has been too high in case and drying Avinds 
bring it seemingly to the proper order or condition. If 
taken down in a "going out season" it will be found 
that the stems are too moist for the leaf, and there will 
be no uniformity in the order. 

When the tobacco is rightly ordered after it is 
stripped, it must be put in a bulk preparatory to prizing 
and to preserve its right order or condition. A plat- 



32G TOBACCO LEAF. 

form, four and one-half feet wide and as long as may be 
necessary to hold the tobacco to be biilked, is made a 
foot, or more, above the surface of the ground, unless 
the stripping room has a plank floor, which will answer 
for a platform. One man gets on the platform and one 
or two bundles at a time are handed to him, after being 
thorouglily straightened and squeezed. A course is run 
the entire length of the platform with the heads coin- 
ciding with its outer edge. Another is similarly run on 
the opposite side of the platform. Then two courses are 
run between these, the heads of the bundles resting 
midway the first course, and the tails overlapping the 
center line of the bulk. These four courses form one 
layer, and these layers are repeated until all the tobacco 
is put in bulk. In laying down the bundles, the man 
who bulks gets on his knees and packs before him, lay- 
ing the bundles flat and drawing them closely together. 
In bulking the heavy-shipping tobacco, the leaves are 
never permitted to flare out faulike, but the bundles are 
kept as nearly as possible in a cylindrical form. When 
the bulk is flnished, it is covered with planks, or tobacco 
sticks, laid evenly over the top and heavily weighted 
with logs or rocks. In two or three weeks the tobacco 
will smell as sweet as a rose and is ready to be put in the 
hogshead. 

The hogsheads for shipping tobacco vary in sizes, 
but the most approved sizes are 56 inches high and 42 
inches in diameter at the head, or 54 inches high and 
38 to 44 inches in diameter. In some districts the hogs- 
heads are made 60 inches high, or even 73 inches high 
by 50 inches in diameter, but these sizes are not popular 
with buyers. 

The casks are usually made of white oak staves 
rived and drawn, but sometimes they are sawed. Hoops 
for banding the casks are made of the sap part, with a 
little of the heart of a young, white oak tree, though 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 327 

small hickory poles divided in halves are frequently used 
for the same purpose. In Virginia and North Carolina, 
staves are often made by sawing cuts of the old field 
pines into the proper dimensions ; these make very 
cheap staves, but they will not bear rough usage. In 
Kentucky and Tennessee, hogsheads are made of hived 
oak staves, or sweet oak, or of any other tough, hard 
wood. 

There are several ways of packing tobacco in hogs- 
heads. One is to run two courses across the bottom of 
the hogshead, the heads of the central bundles in the 
course being about eight inches from the staves, and the 
distance of the heads from the staves decreases each way 
in the course until they come in contact with the staves. 
Two more courses are run at right angles to the first 
two, and this is continued until the hogshead is filled, 
the pressure of the screw, or prize, being put on at 
intervals. This is called the '' square pack," as shown 
in Fig. 93. Another way is to run two courses, as in the 
square pack, and then two more courses, the bundles 
lying in the same directions, but with the heads 
jammed against the staves of the hogshead. In the 
leading heavy-shipping districts from 1400 to 1800 
pounds of the best grades are put in a hogshead, aver- 
aging about 1600 pounds, and from 1800 to 2300 pounds 
of lugs, though the weights vary from 1000 pounds for 
fancy to 2500 pounds for black shippers or balers. 

NEGRO LABOR* 

The Laborers Cliiejiy Employed in the heavy-ship- 
ping-tobacco districts are negroes, who are exceedingly 
efficient in the work of cultivating, worming, suckering, 
housing and preparing the crop for market. Trained 



* It may be weU to state that Col. KUlebrew, the writer of this 
article, was an extensive slave owner before the war, and since then 
has been a large employer of negro labor on his plantations. 



328 



TOBACCO LEAP. 











o 


S^ 




fS!^, 


<: 




K 


■a 




M 


H 


tH 


< 


g 



a ^ 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 329 

through successive geuerations in the tobacco fields and 
directed by highly intelligent managers, the negroes in 
the tobacco-growing districts of Kentucky, Virginia and 
Tennessee take naturally to the work and seem to 
prefer it to any other. They are diligent, careful, 
patient and faithful, and yield a ready and cheerful 
obedience to their employers. Their physical vigor 
gives them the strength to endure and perform the 
severe labor rt^quired in transplanting and housing the 
crop. Many of them become expert curers, assorters 
and packers of tobacco. They are peculiarly fitted to 
withstand the climate of the Southern states. They are 
scarcely affected in health by the malarial districts. 
The burning heat of a summer's sun only awakens in 
tliem a higher sense of enjoyment. They are children 
of the sun, and are as much distressed by extreme cold 
as the Northern laborers are by extreme heat. 

Tliey are not only preferred by the planters, but the 
warehousemen find them most desirable in the work of 
stripping the casks from the tobacco, and preparing it 
for sale. Their cheerful faces are seen and their merry 
laughter is heard in every warehouse of the South, 
where they are employed in rolling the heavy casks in and 
out, applying the break lever for the inspectors, reprizing 
the loose tobacco in the cask and doing all other heavy 
manual work. They are always good humored, good 
natured, obliging and respectful to white people, though 
fond of guying each other in a friendly spirit. 

The negro rarely seeks a higher aim in life than a 
modest living. His earnings are s])ent with a lavish 
hand, and however large his wages he rarely makes any 
provision for old age. He lives for the present, 
happy, thoughtless, contented. His emotional nature 
is extreme and hence he enjoys above all things tlie 
excitement of a "big meeting," a dance, or a horse race. 
Social by nature, he will spend every moment of leisure 



330 TOBACCO LEAF. 

with his companions. He is not given to sechision, or 
to thoughtfnhiess. He is moved by impulse ratlier than 
by reason. This social instinct makes him a discon- 
tented laborer when working alone, and he will take 
less wages where he can mingle with a large number of 
his own race. The negro is liberal to a fault. He will 
often work a whole week and give his earnings to a 
church festival on Saturday night, or hire a costly 
equipage for a drive with his wife and cliildren, or with 
his sweetheart, on Sunday. He will wear ragged, dirty 
clothes six days in the week and a costly tailor-made 
suit when he goes to church, or to a dance, or to spend 
a holiday. Yet, notwithstanding this want of frugality, 
it must be said to the credit of the negro that he very 
seldom leads an idle or vagrant life, and is rarely dissi- 
pated. His race indulges in no anarchistic or social- 
istic ideas. The negro never questions the right of 
another to take his place when he has been discharged, 
or when he voluntarily surrenders it. The idea of a 
boycott is repugiiant to his nature. In many respects 
he is eminently conservative and his greatest weakness is 
a lack of firmness. Oftentimes he is tempted to do 
what a firmer judgment would condemn. 

The negro farm laborers of the South are probably 
the most independent laborers in the United States. 
When one is discharged, unless for some heinous crime, 
he finds no difficulty in securing employment at once on 
some neighboring farm. And yet it cannot be said that 
the negro laborer is wanting in constancy. WJien he is 
treated fairly and honestly by his employer and paid 
promptly, he is averse to a change. Possibly in this 
particular the negro excels every other nationality, or 
race, as a laborer. Rarely does he cherish ill will, 
much less revenge, towards his former employer. He 
entertains a warm feeling for a generous man, but 
cordially despises a parsimonious one. Generosity in 



HEAVY SHIPPING TOBACCO. 331 

the em^^loyer oftentimes goes further Avith him than 
justice. 

It is often alleged by Northern writers and statis- 
ticians that the wages paid Southern laborers are much 
less than are paid for the same class in the North. This 
is more aj)parent than real. A Northern farm laborer, 
with a family, has generally to pay rent for his house 
and garden, purchase his supply of fuel and pay for the 
pasturage of any stock that he may own. All this is 
given freely to the negro farm laborers of the South and 
they are employed throughout the whole twelve months. 
In the stemming factories many negro women are 
employed in stemming tobacco. They easily earn from 
50 cents to $1.50 per day. 

The wages of a Northern man may be 120 to 125 
per month, but much of this will be absorbed in buying 
what the Southern farm laborer has given him, and it 
rarely happens that he is employed for the whole year 
at the wages named. The Southern laborer has more 
money to spend for his pleasures and is rarely oppressed 
with debt. In the Northwestern States, with the 
bleak, cheerless climate of that region, the wages of $30 
per month to a laborer will not provide near as many of 
the comforts of life as one-half this amount paid to a 
Southern laborer. The winters of the Northwest are 
long and dreary; fuel is expensive and necessary to 
comfort for at least six months in the year. The char- 
acter of the clothing also, suitable to such a climate, 
makes it much more costly than that required by the 
laborer of the South. 

The great and leading difference between the white 
labor of the North and the colored labor of the South is 
this : The first has ambitions, calculates possibilities, 
and looks forward to the future ; the latter enjoys the 
present, is indifferent about what is to come, and is 
utterly incapable of that self-denial which makes thrift 



332 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



and prosperity possible. The negro laborer never 
crosses a stream until he reaches it. He is, therefore, 
contented and happy, — jolly and hilarious oftentimes, 
when, under precisely similar conditions and circum- 
stances, the white laborer will worry and give way to 
irritability, or senseless passion. The colored laborer 
enjoys more happiness and contentment ; the white 
laborer more thrift and prosperity. The one is pro- 
gressive, the other conservative. Great prosperity 
springs from the exertions of the one ; old customs are 
perpetuated by the other and scarcely any progress is 
made by him in the development of accumulated wealth. 
The negroes occupy a unique, but useful place, in the 
social structure of the United States. They never 
indulge in strikes, but they always have profitable em- 
ployment, and their employers become attached to them 
and they to their employers. Tlicre is less suffering 
and more contentment among them than among any 
other laborers in the United States. 




CHAPTER XIV. 

THE WHITE BURLEY AND MANUFACTURING TOBACCO. 

While experiments in growing White Burley have 
been made in all the tobacco-growing States in the 
South and several in the North, the district where the 
quality reaches its greatest excellence has greatly 
increased its boundaries during the past 15 years. This 
entire district lies on both sides of the Ohio river. The 
Kentucky White IJurley district embraces an area of a 
little over 10,000 square miles, and includes 34 counties, 
or parts of counties, all of which adjoin, except two, 
Breathitt and Bell, forming an irregular figure bounded 
by the Ohio river on the North and on the other sides 
by lines drawn from Louisville, Ky., to Danville, and 
from Danville to Catlettsburg. Bell and Breathitt 
together only produced a little over 15,000 pounds of 
tobacco in 1896, and scarcely deserve to be mentioned. 

The largest producing counties, taken in the order 
of their production as reported by the county assessors, 
in 1894, are Mason with over 5,000,000 pounds; Shelby, 
Henry, Woodford and Carroll each between 4,000,000 
and 5,000,000 pounds. Tlie following counties between 
3,000,000 and 4,000,000 pounds,— Harrison, Hart, 
Grant, Scott, Nicholas, Fleming, Pendleton, Bracken 
and Fayette. Boone and Trimble produced each 
between 3,000,000 and 3,000,000 pounds. The coun- 
ties of Clark, Bourbon, Owen, Franklin and Gallatin 
produced over 1,500,000 pounds each, and the counties 
of Bath, Jessamine, Carter, Mercer and Robertson pro- 
duced over 1,000,000 each. 

333 



334 



TOBACCO LEA.F. 




"^0 ^j^h- 








fim I TiUHWir, 



WHITE BURLEY TOBACCO. OOD 

The Ohio White Burley district lies just north of 
:he Ohio river and immediately opposite the White 
Burley district of Kentucky. It embraces the coun- 
ties of Brown, Adams, Clermont, Butler, Scioto, 
Hamilton, Highland, Licking and Lawrence. All 
these counties lie on the Ohio river, except Butler, 
Highland and Licking. Brown produced in 1894 
over 3,700,000 pounds; Adams and Clermont each 
over 2,000,000. None of the other counties produced 
as much as 500,000 pounds. These figures are taken 
from the assessors' returns to the Secretary of State 
for 1894. 

If the figures reported by the assessors are correct, 
they indicate a considerable falling off in the production 
of the White Burley crop in Ohio in 1894, as compared 
with the production in 1889. The counties of Brown, 
Adams and Clermont reported for that year 14,877,959 
pounds, but in 1894 only 8,737,639 pounds, showing a 
falling off of 41 per cent. A comparison of five of the 
counties in Kentucky that have the largest production 
shows about an equal amount for both years. Mason, 
Shelby, Henry, Woodford and Carroll show a production, 
both in 1889 and 1894, of over 23,000,000 pounds in the 
aggregate. 

The Soils of the White Bnrley District are among 
the most fertile in the United States, and in this respect 
occupy a position in relation to the growth of product 
diametrically opposite to the character of the soils best 
fitted for the growth of yellow tobacco. The latter 
requires conparatively sterile, sandy soils, while the 
White Burley must have the most fertile, limestone soils 
for its proper development. A comparison of chemical 
elements of the two typical soils will be instructive. 
Take the analysis of the soil of Mason county, Ken- 
tucky, where the finest White Burley tobacco is grown, 
and an analysis of the soil of Granville county. North 



336 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Carolina, where the higliest grade of yellow tobacco is 
grown, and we find the following : 

Mason Co., Ky. GranvUle Co., N. C. 

Organic and volatile matter, 8.462 1.2050 

Alumina, 4.745 2.4965 

Oxide of iron, 6.240 0.6275 

Lime, .836 0.2330 

Magnesia, .798 0.0847 

Manganese, .146 0.0417 

Phosphoiic acid, .231 0.0379 

Siilplmric acid, .084 0.0140 

Potash, .558 0.5O45 

Soda, .160 0.2892 

Silica, 78.100 93.5035 

The White Burley soil has seven times as much 
organic and volatile matter in it as the yellow tobacco 
soil, twice as much alumina, ten times as much oxide of 
iron, over tliree and a half times as much lime, nearly 
ten times as much magnesia, three and a half times as 
much manganese, nearly seven times as much phos- 
phoric acid, six times as much sulphuric acid, and one- 
tenth more of potash. The yellow tobacco soil has 
nearly twice as much soda, and nearly 20 per cent more 
sand. 

The topographical featuies of the White Burley 
district in Kentucky are greatly diversified. High, 
rolling ridges, round, domelike knobs, and sharp hills, 
with here and there level stretches, are its characteristic 
features. Many streams pass through the district, and 
these have carved out deep, winding valleys that are 
three or four hundred feet below the general surface of 
the country. The great ridge, known as Dry Ridge, 
which forms the main axis, or backbone, of the region, 
runs approximately north and south. Upon this the 
Cincinnati Southern railroad was built. From this 
ridge, many transverse and subordinate spurs shoot 
out, but they are so often dissevered by deep hollows, or 
gorges, that the region presents for the most part a very 
irregular series of rounded or flat elevations. The coan- 



WHITE BURLEY TOBACCO. 337 

try, except in the principal blue grass counties, is very 
much broken, and nearly every -member of the Lower 
Silurian formation is exposed at one or more places in 
the district. This gives within limits a considerable 
variation in the composition of the soil, but all of it is 
made fertile by the presence of the carbonate and phos- 
phate of lime. The principal tree growth on the best 
tobacco soils is hickory, white oak, [tulip tree, beech, 
walnut, hackberry, black locust and ash. All this 
growth indicates a very fruitful soil. Where the white 
oak is the prevailing growth the soil is called "oak 
soil." The soils in every part of the district are exceed- 
ingly durable, and where apparently exhausted, if they 
are abandoned for a few years, fresh plant food will be 
supplied by the disintegration of the shaly beds and 
the soft limestones that underlie them. Many of these 
limestones contain such a large percentage of phos- 
phoric acid as even to make them, when pulverized, val- 
uable as a fertilizer. 

The great unevenness of the surface of the country 
makes tillage difficult. The slopes of the hills, except 
when kept in grass, soon become scarified with unsightly 
gullies. Clean culture, such as tobacco requires, soon 
makes the land unproductive, not, as many suppose, by 
the amount of fertilizing material extracted from the 
soil by that crop, but because of the rapidity and ease 
with which the soil is carried from the hillsides to the 
valleys. However, the region is fortunate in having a 
subsoil and rocky strata beneath, which hold in store a 
large amount of unexpended plant food, which is una- 
vailable until it has been liberated by the crumbling of 
these underclays and rocky beds through tlie effects of 
weathering. Unlike almost any other region not 
alluvial, the fertility of the soil is renewed by time, as 
interest gathers upon a fixed capital. 

While a few planters prefer the old lands, and 
22 



338 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



especially the old sod lands in the bluegrass districts 
because the yield is much larger, the greater number of 
growers prefer the freshly opened lands, where white 
oak was the original tree growth. The southern and 
eastern sides of the elevations are usually selected for 
growing tobacco. In such situations the plant grows 
into its greatest beauty and most useful qualities, and 
ripens more evenly and more quickly. Where the soil 
is derived from the liighly calcareous, sandy, blue lime- 




FIG. 99. WHITE BURLET ON SCAFFOLD. 

stones and has been kept in bluegrass sod for many 
years, an excellent manufacturing leaf is grown, not so 
silky, or so bright in color, or so soft to the touch, or so 
lustrous, or elastic, or high priced, as that grown on the 
fresh oak lands, but heavier in body and richer in 
gummy matter. This old-land product is preferred for 
manufacturing plug and navy, but not for making cut- 
ting tobacco, as the amount of gum present unfits it for 
that purpose. The old-land product is considered. 



WHITE BURLEY TOBACCO. 339 

therefore, a most useful quality of tobacco, and though 
its color is more red than yellow, it has supplied a want 
for plug for which the thin, highly colored tobacco 
grown on fresh soil is not at all suited. It is an ideal 
filler for plug tobacco, having a large absorptive 
capacity, mild in its effects upon the nervous system, 
delicate in its flavor, and withal is very popular with 
consumers. 

The soil is the most potent factor in the growth of 
the White Burley, as it is in the growth of the yellow 
tobacco, or the heavy-shipping leaf. Take the soils of 
one of the typical counties, Owen for instance, and they 
are classified by the planters according to their timber 
growth. Plot 1 has a growth of sugar tree, beech, tulip 
tree, hackberry and butternut, and is first-class bluegrass 
land ; this soil makes the largest number of pounds 
per acre, but the product is red, heavy and gummy. 
Plot 2 has a growth of white oak and more clay and 
less sand in its composition ; the tobacco grown on it 
is thin, bright and silky. Plot 3 resembles an alluvial 
soil, filled with organic matter; the timber growth is 
ash, locust, poplar and oak ; it grows a rough, heavy 
tobacco useful, as a general thing, only for fillers and for 
wrappers in the manufacture of the cheaper grades of 
plug tobacco. 

The White Burley soil in Ohio consists of modified 
glacial drift, and occupies, beside the Ohio river basin, 
the fringing spurs, which rise to a bight of 400 to 500 
feet above the Ohio river and run back from the basin, 
uniting at a greater or less distance in a plateau country 
deeply gashed at intervals by the tributaries of the Ohio 
and Miami rivers. Many broad areas of level land occur 
on this plateau, so flat, indeed, that in times of exces- 
sive rains, they overflow and form temporary lakes. 
The drift, or glacial deposits, contributes mainly to the 
formation of the soils of the district, though there are 



340 TOBACCO LEAF. 

some small areas where the limestones of the Lower 
Silurian age come to the surface and yield their charac- 
teristic soil. The drift is composed largely of fertile 
clays, in which limestone gravel is imbedded. Four 
kinds, or varieties, of soil are found in this district : 
1. The native soil formed from the limestones, or bed 
rocks, of the country. 2. Drift soil of the uplands. 
3. Black soil of swampy or peaty areas. 4. The alluvial 
soil of the river and creek bottoms. The native soil is 
found on the sloping hills that run down to the stream 
beds. This soil is dark, friable and fertile and very 
much resembles the bluegrass soil of Kentucky, and it 
has the same tree growth. It is preferred for tobacco, 
though it washes easily. Tobacco is grown on all the 
other classes of soil mentioned, but the peaty and allu- 
vial soils make a coarse, rough article. 

Summarizing the quality of the product as affected 
by the variety of soils and different expoGures in the 
White Burley districts of Ohio and Kentucky, we find 
that : 

1. Tobacco grown upon new lands, and especially 
new oak lands, is thin, light, bright golden in color, 
gumless and rattles, when handled, like dry fodder. 
This is the very best cutting leaf. 

2. On the same land the second year the product 
will be heavier, a cherry red in color, with more body, 
but with little gum. This is suitable botli for cutters 
and for the manufacture of plug. 

3. Old sod land makes a product of better body, a 
good absorbent, less light in color, more useful as a l>lng" 
filler, with a considerable gain in the number of pounds 
produced on a given area. 

4. Alluvial soils produce tobacco dark in color, 
rough in feel, bony and lacking in softness, and it has a 
small absorptive cai)acity. 

As to exposures, other things being equal, the east- 



WHITE BURLEY TOBACCO. 



341 




343 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ern, or southeastern, is the preference, the southern 
next, the northern third and the western last. 

The White Burley tobacco is planted to some extent 
in Virginia, Tennessee, Missouri, Maryland, West Vir- 
ginia, Indiana, Ohio and Arkansas, but it usually fails, 
when planted outside of the blue limestone soils of its 
native habitat, to attain the excellence that makes it 
desirable. The farmers of each district often, after 
fruitless experiments, return to the cultivation of that 
type which has made each district famous. Some 
excellent Burley tobacco is produced on the freestone 
soils of West Virginia, with pebbly subsoils covered with 
humus. 

The central basin of Tennessee, of which Nashville 
is the center, by reason of its blue limestone soils, which 
have the same geological and Hthological character as 
those in the White Burley district of Kentucky, pre- 
sents the most promising field for the extension of the 
culture of this most desirable product. Some is already 
grown in Trousdale, Wilson, Smith, and a part of 
Mason, in the upper Cumberland river tobacco district, 
in Tennessee, and in several of the counties in the same* 
tobacco district in Kentucky. 

Two Varieties of White Burley. — There are two 
sub-varieties of White Burley now grown in Kentucky. 
The old variety (Plate VII, Page 40) has a pale green, 
or greenish-white color, and the leaves grow very closely 
together on the stalk. It is also much ruffled, that is, 
the leaves at the Junction with the stalk have a ruffle, 
which passes sometimes entirely around the stalk. 

The other sub-variety (Plate IX, Page 48) is not so 
pale in color, but it shows the white veins while grow- 
ing. The leaves are more pointed and do not grow so 
closely together on the stalk. This sub-variety is more 
hardy and less easily damaged by weather conditions, 
either in the field, or after it has been put in the barn. 



WHITE BUELEY TOBACCO. 343 

It furnishes more plug fillers also than the old variety. 
The new variety has but little ruffle, thus affording 
fewer hiding places for tlie worms. It is not so sensi- 
tive to the heat of the sun, or to house burn. It will 
also cure with fewer green leaves or spots. 

Preparation of the Land. — In the bluegrass re- 
gions of Kentucky, where the White Burley is now very 
extensively grown, the preparation of the land for the 
crop is begun in the winter, from January to March. 
Two methods of breaking, are practiced: One with a 
plow having a ''skimmer" attached just in front of the 
subsoiler. The ''skimmer" reverses a slice of sod 
some ten inches wide and two inches thick, and 
the subsoiler throws four or five inches of soil on 
top of the reversed sod. The second way is to turn 
the sod under with a two-horse plow to the depth of 
eight inches. 

About the middle of April, a revolving .disc harrow 
is run over the land, cutting the sods to pieces. This 
is followed by a slab drag, which is made of three or 
four pieces of timber, fastened at intervals of a foot, or 
more, with chains, so as to be flexible. This slab drag 
smooths the ground and pulverizes all the clods. The 
land is then marked off, from three feet eight inches to 
three feet ten inches, one way only, with an implement 
made for the purpose, which makes three marks at once. 
These marks are about three inches wide, and about two 
or three inches deep. They are made with a piece of 
scantling two inches thick, the front being armed Avith 
a sharpened piece of iron slightly flanged backward. 
The plants are set on the edge of these marks, at a dis- 
tance varying from 18 to 27 inches, the less distance 
being used for growing cutting tobacco. Hills^ are 
seldom mada.Jn the White Burley district, except 
by a few Germans, who live in Mason county, Ken- 
tucky. In that county, about one-fifth of the area 



844 TOBACCO LEAF. 

planted in tobacco is fresh land, which makes the very 
best cutting tobacco. 

Fertilization and Rotation. — It is a very rare thing 
for fertilizers, or manure, to be used anywhere in the 
White Burley districts. One planter says he never uses 
manure if he "can possibly avoid it," for the tobacco 
product is much better when grown without it, having 
more elasticity and other desirable qualities. Some- 
times, though rarely, a little manure is spread over the 
land before it is harrowed. , Tobacco stalks and trash 
from the barns are preferred to any other fertilizer ior 
tobacco, and impair its qualities less. 

The tobacco crop is usually followed by wheat sown 
in the fall, and upon this timothy is sown immediately, 
and red clover in the following spring. The land is 
allowed to remain in timothy and clover for several 
years before it is planted again in tobacco. The timothy 
"eats out" the clover in about two years, and the blue- 
grass takes the timothy in about four years. When well 
sodded with bluegrass, the soil is again prepared for 
another crop of tobacco. 

On new land, two crops of tobacco are grown in 
two successive years. After the first crop of tobacco is 
taken off, the land is sown to rye, which is allowed to 
grow without pasturing, until the following April. 
The rye is then turned under with a skimmer and sub- 
soiler, or only with a turning plow, like the bluegrass 
sod. After the land has produced two crops of tobacco, 
wheat and timothy are sown immediately after the 
tobacco is housed, and clover the following spring. 
After the expiration of three years, another crop of 
tobacco is grown. After the third crop, the rotation is 
like that given for old land. 

Tobacco plants are usually set after a shower, but if 
the rains are tardy, or insufficient, the plants are set out 
in the afternoons and watered. The Bemis planter. 



WHITE BUELEY TOBACCO. 345 

(Fig. 33) is, in common use in the bluegrass section, by 
tbe large planters. From one and a half to two acres 
may be set out in an afternoon with three hands — two to 
drop plants and one to drive the team. A few days 
after the plants are set out, the ground near them is 
scraped with hoes. When the plant is established, a 
bull-tongue cultivator is run six times in the space 
between the rows. Every week after this the land is 
plowed with double-shovel cultivators until the period 
for topping approaches. Some planters plow deep ; 
others shallow, as their Judgments may determine. But 
little difference is observed in the product, whether the 
plowing is shallow or deep. The work of tillage should 
be directed to keeping the crop clean. During this 
period the tobacco is usually hoed twice, a little dirt 
being drawn to the plants at each hoeing. There are a 
few small farmers who throw the dirt to the plants 
with a one-horse turning plow, leaving a deep furrow 
between the rows. This method of cultivating, how- 
ever, is almost abandoned. 

Care of the Growhig Crop. — When the first buttons, ^^^-^r 
or seed buds, appear, the cultivation should cease, and 
the work of topping begin. From 16 to 20 leaves are 
left on each plant. White Burley is never primed 
before topping, and when it is desired to grow a cutting 
tobacco, the plants are topped much higher than when 
a filler is to be produced. High topping and close 
planting produce cutters; low topping and longer dis- 
tances between the plants make a filler of good body 
and excellent flavor, and wrappers of great strength of 
fiber. It is best to top Just as soon as there is a 
sufficient number of leaves on the stalk. It is better, 
however, to let a few plants bloom, if, by so doing, a 
large proportion of the plants in the field may be topped 
at the same time. All plants in the same field should, 
be topped in the same week, even though some of thej 



346 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



plants be topped to six leaves. This rule is fonnded 
upon the intelligent experience of the best planters in 
the White Burley district. The tobacco should be 
wormed at least once a week (see chapter on Pests). If 
the weather is very wet, the tobacco will have to be 




FIG. 101. WHITE BUULEY PL.-VNT NOT PRIMED. 

This plant was Riown at the Kentuckv experiment station, umler the same condi- 
tions as the typical plant of this variety shown in Plate IX. It was not pj op- 
erly primed, "so the bottom leaves rest nearly on the frround and are smaii in 
size. The plant was four and oiie-fonrth feet hiRh, with a spread of four feet, 
heins slishtlv wilted when photoarraphed. The top leaf w'as 28 incnes long 
and 10 wide, iniddle leaf .ISxII inches. It will he seen that the iP'Yfs are even 
larger than those in Plate IX. sivinar a larger weight per acre, hut the amount 
of tinmerchantahle leaf is much larger, the quality usually not as good, ana 
the tobacco will not sell as well as when the tobacco is properly priinea. 

suckered three times. The suckers should never be 
allowed to grow longer than three inches. 

Harvesting. — From four to five weeks after topping, 
the tobacco should be fully ripe. The plants are then 



WHITE BURLEY TOBACCO. 347 

cut with a butcher knife, or a tobacco cutter, described 
iu the previous chapter. Each person cutting takes 
three rows, splits the stalk down below the middle and 
straddles the plants, as they are cut, over a stick stuck 
up in the middle row, on the hill of the last plant cut 
in that row. From five to six plants are put on each 
stick, according to the size of the plants. In this way 
the tobacco is cut and housed without coming in contact 
with the dirt. The sticks are four and one-third feet 
in length, and wlien filled with tobacco are taken 
directly to the curing houses, or barns, and hung 12 
inches apart on the tier poles. Very many planters 
put the tobacco on scaffolds in the field, where it 
remains for three or four days, and it is then taken to 
the barns. Trestles, five feet high and very much like 
those used by plasterers and carpenters, are employed to 
hold up the tier poles of the scaffold (Fig. 99). The 
tobacco, when taken from the scaffold, may be arranged 
on the tier poles in the barns as closely as eight inches. 
By scaffolding, one-third of the capacity of the barn 
may be saved. The danger in scaffolding is that the 
tobacco may be caught in a rain. About one-third of 
the tobacco planters in the district now scaffold their 
tobacco before taking it to the barns. 

The leaf, after being properly wilted on the stick, 
or scaffold, is carried to the barn on a frame, made just 
wide enough to take the sticks conveniently, as shown 
in Fig. 100. 

Assorting and Stuffing. — When fully cured, tlie 
tobacco is assorted usually into six grades as follows : 
1. Flyings, or sand leaves, called also spod, which con- 
stitute about 10 per cent of the crop. 2. Trash, 15 per 
cent. 3. Lugs, 15 per cent. 4. Bright leaf, 30 per 
cent. 5. Red leaf, 25 per cent. 6. Tips, or the short 
top and often greenish leaves, making up the remaining 
5 per cent. 



348 TOBACCO LEAF. 

The flyings and sand leaves are nsed mainly for 
making smokers; the trash and lugs in a line crop are 
used for cutters ; the bright leaf is used for vvrapj^ers, 
or 6n6 cutters; the red leaf for plug fillers, and the 
tips for making a low grade of plug for exportation. 

All grades are tied in bundles of from 10 to 20 
leaves, the smaller number of leaves to the bundle being 
used in the better grades. A tie an inch in diameter is 
a better standard and one preferred by the dealers. 

F aching for Market. — When White Burley has been 
assorted and stripped in the fall, each grade is put in a 
separate bulk. This is prized (pressed into bogheads) 
at once and is known as the "winter prizing." 

For "summer prizing" the tobacco is allowed to 
remain in bulk until the heated season approaches. It 
is then hung up in the barn (Fig. 102) for the June 
sweat, and reordered, so that the stems will crack when 
bent to the tips of the leaves. Some planters, instead 
of bulking the tobacco down after stripping, put the 
bundles on sticks and shingle it on a plank floor until 
May, and then hang it up in the barn to be properly 
sweated and ordered. When prized in casks weighing 
1100 pounds for the fine grades, and 1200 to 1400 
pounds for the inferior grades in good keeping con- 
dition after the sweat, it will remain sweet for years. 

The largest portion of the crop goes to Louisville, 
Cincinnati and Eichmond, Virginia, and is prized in 
hogsheads 48 inches in diameter and 60 inches high, 
made generally of poplar staves five-eighths of an inch 
thick. It should always be remembered by the grower 
of tobacco, and especially of the White Burley tobacco, 
that a good crop badly handled will sell no better than 
a bad crop well handled. In packing the tobacco in a 
hogshead, the heads of the bundles are drawn closely 
together, but the tails are allowed to spread out like a 
fan. This is different from the packing of heavy-ship- 



WHITE BURLEY TOBACCO. 



349 




350 TOBACCO LEAF. 

ping tobacco, when every bundle is packed closely to the 
preceding one throughout its entire length, as shown in 
Fig. 93. 

The best cutting leaf comes from Owen county, 
Kentucky, and from the hilly land in Clermont and 
Adams counties in Ohio. It is bright and thin and gum- 
less. Mason and Bracken counties make a i)lug filler of 
fine fiber, but of good body. Fayette, and the counties 
in the bluegrass district, will make a tobacco of as fine 
fiber as that grown in Bracken and Mason counties, if 
topped high enough and planted closely enough. If a 
very wide space is left between the plants, the tobacco 
will grow too rank, and with large stems, which is not 
desirable for either plug filler or cutters ; such is the 
product of the alluvial soils in the White Burley 
counties of Ohio. When well cured, however, such a 
product makes a very sweet chewing tobacco. 

Manufacturing Leaf. — In a few of the counties in 
Virginia, notably Caroline, Spottsylvania, Hanover and 
Louisa, sun and air cured fillers for plug tobacco are 
produced which are said to be the sweetest for chewing 
purposes grown in the United States. There is no dif- 
ference in the methods employed in cultivating this and 
the White Burley, or the shipping leaf. The main dif- 
ference lies in the method of curing. The tobacco is 
scaffolded until the leaf is nearly cured in the sun, and 
it remains on the scaffold from four to seven days. It 
is then removed to the bam, where it hangs until it is 
entirely cured. When the weather is unfavorable, the 
tobacco gets but little sun. In such weather, plenty of 
space must be left between the sticks so that the plants 
will not touch each other. 

No fire must be used after it is put in the barn, 
unless in the case of long-continued damp weather. It 
is then fired gently to kee]) it from molding. The rich, 
mahogany wrappers and fillers grown in Henry county, 



WHITE BUELEY TOBACCO. 



35i 



Virginia, and to some extent in one or two of the 
adjoining counties, are flue-cured in the same manner as 
yellow tobacco. 

Missouri, for many years, grew a large quantity of 
excelleni manufacturing tobacco in the eastern part of 
the State, on both sides of the Missouri river, but the 
product has greatly fallen off within recent years. The 
White Burley is now more extensively used in the 
United States, for the manufacturing of plug and fine 
cut, than all other varieties combined. West Virginia 
is gradually enlarging its area of manufacturing tobacco. 




/ 



CHAPTER XV. 

YELLOW TOBACCO. 

The most astonishing fact about the development 
of this industry, described in Chapter I, is that it has 
made the abandoned soils in the midland districts of 
North Carolina and Virginia the most valuable for 
agricultural purposes. The excellence of yellow leaf 
seems to depend upon the poverty of the soil, as well as 
its color. 

This leaf grows at all altitudes from 50 to 2500 feet, 
and under isothermals from G0° down to 54°, from the 
coast to the western North Carolina mountains, along 
the French Broad river and beyond in Tennessee, 
between the Little Pedee, Santee and Wateree rivers in 
South Carolina, in more than a dozen counties of south- 
ern Virginia, also in West Virginia, southern Ohio, a 
few points in Kentucky, eastern Missoitri and Arkansas. 
Indeed, this tobacco will probably be tried wherever the 
soil seems adapted. The State experiment stations, or 
private individuals, are testing this variety in Louisiana, 
Georgia, Arkansas and elsewhere, and in some cases 
with promising results, where the soils are most like the 
typical yellow tobacco soils named below. 

The quantity of yellow tobacco produced was erro- 
neously stated by the census of 1890. Mr. W. W. 
"Wood has shown that for 1891, the North Carolina prod- 
uct of tobacco was probably 85,000,000 pounds, while 
the 1895 crop is returned by tlie United States depart- 
ment of agriculture as nearly 115,000,000 pounds. The 
yield per acre, under pro])er culture, varies from 600 to 
r 352 



YELLOW TOBACCO. 353 

900 pounds, and probably 700 pounds per acre is a fair 
estimate in a good year, this being double the yield 
reported by the census of 1890. 

There is great rivalry between the districts, as to 
which grows the finest tobacco. For a long time Gran- 
ville county, North Carolina, stood without a peer as to 
quality, but Durham, Chatham, Caswell, Person, Nash 
and Wilson now stand with Granville in the first rank. 
Warren, Franklin and Pitt are all noted for growing an 
excellent quality. The western counties of North Car- 
olina make probably the best bright fillers and some 
very fine wrappers. Eastern North Carolina and South 
Carolina grow the whitest tobacco. The low, level, 
sandy areas seem peculiarly adapted to growth of that 
style of leaf. East Tennessee grows some very fine leaf, 
but the proportion of green tobacco is large. The south- 
side counties of Virginia have a wider range of product, 
growing a much larger quantity of inferior tobacco, but 
some of the very highest grades of the yellow product. 
Every district has some peculiarity of product, which 
makes the tobacco easily recognized by dealers. 

Wherever produced, this fact stands out with prom- 
inence, that the soils upon which it is grown are prac- 
tically the same in color, in composition, in general tex- 
ture, in porosity, in physical characteristics and in 
constituent elements. The opinions of the planters, as 
to the relative merits of the product grown upon old 
lands and freshly cleared lands, differ somewhat. New 
lands are preferred in every locality where this tobacco 
is grown, except in the midland district and in South 
Carolina. In these districts the farmers, by Judicious 
use of barnyard manure and fertilizers, make the very 
highest grades on old lands, though all admit that 
freshly cleared lands with suitable soils will yield a very 
fine quality. A peculiarity of some soils is that they 
will make a very fine yellow wrapper for a year, or two, 
23 



354 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




YELLOW TOBACCO. 355 

but never afterwards, however much they may be 
coaxed. This, doubtless, grows out of an increased 
density, or compactness, of the soil. There seems 
everywhere to be a reciprocal relation between the color 
of the soil and the color of the cured product, for no 
case is reported in which a tobacco, having an orange, 
or lemon yellow color, has been grown, except on light 
colored, porous soils. Even the darkening of the color 
of the soil, by the application of too much stable 
manure, will change the product from a bright yellow 
to a mahogany, or mottled leaf. 

This must be said, however, of the yellow tobacco 
product of nearly every region, except that grown on the 
very poor soils of Virginia, North and South Carolina, 
that it will blacken under pressure, while the typical 
yellow wrapper, grown on suitable soils in the last 
named States, will remain as bright and as stainless 
under the great pressure of the manufacturer's screw as 
if made of gold-foil. The poorer the soil upon which 
the tobacco is grown, the better it will bear this test, 
and this, to a great extent, is the test of merit and 
value. 

Typical Soils for Yelloio Leaf. — In the Champaign 
or Eastern district of North Carolina, where yellow 
tobacco is now grown, embracing the counties of 
Edgecombe, Wilson, Nash, Pitt, Greene, Duplin, 
Jones, Lenoir, Northampton, "Wayne, Warren, Franklin, 
Johnston, Wake, Sampson and Halifax, the formation 
consists largely of uncompacted, loose strata of sand, 
and sandy and gravelly clays, generally resting upon 
marly beds of half-decomposed shells, a few feet below 
the surface. These marly beds often come to the sur- 
face along the bluffs, or in the bottoms of the stream 
beds. The country is generally level, or slightly undu- 
lating, except where the streams have carved out chan- 
nels through the spongy strata. The soil is grayish in 



356 TOBACCO LEAF. 

color, though when first cleared the surface soil has a 
darkish hue, derived from the presence of vegetable 
matter. It, liowever, soons becomes gray when inter- 
mixed by cultivation with the subsoil, which is usually 
yellow, sometimes gray, occasionally red, or brown ; in 
contexture it is a clayey sand, though in certain areas 
clay predominates and it becomes a sandy clay. The 
timber growth is long and short leaf pines, with a 
subordinate growth of oaks of several kinds and hickory, 
and an underbrush of gum, dogwood, huckleberry, 
honeysuckle and trailing vines. Oaks predominate on 
clayey, and pines on sandy soils. 

The soils in the Champaign or Tidewater districts 
of Virginia, North Carolina and South Carolina, suited 
to the growth of bright, yellow tobacco, have an open, 
sandy texture and light gray color, with a yellow, 
clayey, or sandy subsoil, well drained, naturally support- 
ing such tree growth as has been mentioned. These 
are not considered fertile soils. Indeed, a crop of ten 
bushels of corn, without fertilization, or 300 pounds of 
seed cotton, to the acre is a fair yield for them. They 
are all drift or transported soils, made up of decom- 
posed, or comminuted rocks of the midland district, 
that have been brought down and ground up, leached, 
sifted and sorted. The oxides of iron and clay in finer 
particles have been carried out to the ocean in rapid, 
glacial currents, leaving behind the heavier and coarser, 
sandy material. This gives the essential conditions that 
determine their fitness for the production of yellow 
tobacco, — warmth and thorough drainage, aided by the 
negative conditions of the absence of iron, humus and 
an excess of clay. 

The late Professor Kerr, from whose careful obser- 
vations many of these facts are drawn, asserted that the 
early ripening of the plant was a notable peculiarity of 
the growth of tobacco in the Champaign district. The 



YELLOW TOBACCO. 



357 



yellow hue, which indicates maturity, anticipates the 
beginning of August, and sometimes the harvesting 
begins the first week in July, and the crop is gathered 
and cured before the first cuttings are made in the more 
westerly districts. This is regarded as an advantage, as 
it lessens the liability of damage from worms and 
droughts, or from excessive rains. Professor Kerr was 
of the opinion that at least one-half of the cotton area 
of the Champaign districts in the States of Virginia and 
North Carolina is adapted to the growth of yellow 
tobacco. 

The Midland district of North Carolina and Vir- 
ginia, lying to the west of the Champaign districts, is 
where the industry orig- 
inated, and where the 
product reached its 
highest perfection audi 
won its most brilliant 
triumphs. In North 
Carolina, the counties 
in the Midland district 
best known for produc- ^^^- ^^■ 
ing this tobacco are Caswell, Person, Granville, Vance, 
Orange, Durham, Alamance, Guilford, Rockingham, 
Stokes, Forsyth and Surry. Two counties in Virginia, 
Halifax and Pittsylvania, have also won a well-merited 
distinction for growing yellow tobacco. 

All this region is hilly, often rough, having numer- 
ous rivers, fed by hundreds of tributaries, cutting down 
through the soft, crumbling strata to a depth varying 
from 50 to 200 feet below the summits of the ridges 
that separate the streams. A very small portion of the 
soil of this entire district is adapted to the growth of 
yellow tobacco. The best tobacco lands are found on 
the tops of the ridges, where there is a gray, sandy or 
gravelly soil, with a cream-colored subsoil of a sandy 




BASKET FOR CARKYING PLANTS. 



358 TOBACCO LEAF. 

material. The favorable indications and conditions 
that promise success are good drainage, an open texture 
of the soil, a freedom from the oxides of iron, a forest 
growth of stunted oaks, "bald face Spanish oaks," 
white oaks and post oaks — with old field pines, chin- 
quapin, huckleberry, dogwood, scrub, hickory, persim- 
mon, sourwood and other natural growth, such as broom 
sedge, poverty grass and small green briers, that betray a 
lean or impoverished soil. All these are the vegetable 
flags of sterility, and the forerunners of success for the 
yellow tobacco grower in that district. 

Such places are called by the inhabitants "jjea 
ridges," ''chinquapin ridges" and ''huckleberry ridges." 
Wheat, oats, or corn planted upon such soil will rarely 
reproduce the seed. All the soils in the Midland dis- 
tricts are sedentary, with the exception of the triassic 
and alluvia], that is, they have been formed by the 
crumbling down of the underlying rocks, and the con- 
stituent elements of the rocks are for the most part 
identical with those of the resulting soils. Where the 
trap rocks come to the surface, the soils are reddish in 
color, due to the presence of the oxides of iron. Such 
soils are fatal to the growth of yellow tobacco. 

So controlling is the character of the soil, that one 
part of a farm may produce the very finest grades of 
tobacco found in the market, and another part will grow 
the commonest article. The writer examined a large 
tobacco farm in Granville county upon which the very 
highest priced tobacco was produced. On one part of 
the farm only, and that the most sterile, was any 
attempt made to produce the yellow tobacco. Where 
the soil was derived from the gneisses, quartzites, 
light colored feldspathic rocks and dove-colored slates, 
tobacco in its highest perfection and greatest beauty was 
grown, but no grain, no vegetables, no fruits. Where 
the soil was the result of the decomposition of the trap- 



YELLOW TOBACCO. 359 

poid rocks, and reddish in color, wheat, rye, corn and 
potatoes were grown, with generous yields, l)ut no 
tobacco was planted, except for the purpose of growing 
a heavy shipping leaf. 

An analysis of the tobacco soil taken from this farm 
shows organic and vegetable matter, 1.205; silicic anhy- 
dride, 93.50; ferric oxide, 0.2G75 ; alumina, 2.496; 
manganous oxide, 0,0417: lime, 0.233; magnesia, 
0.0847; potash, 0.5045 ; soda, 0.2892; phosphoric anhy- 
dride, 0.0379; sulphuric anhydride 0.0140. The soil 
geologically comes from the oldest known geological 
formation, the Archean. The field from which the 
sample of soil was taken for analysis had been used for 
tobacco six years in succession, but was previously an 
''old field" that had been exhausted by cultivation and 
had been allowed to lie un tilled for some fourteen years 
previous to being used for tobacco. It is possible that 
the very small amount of organic and volatile matter 
reported was due to the application of small quantities 
of stable manure every year. Practically, this so-called 
soil is nothing but a porous sponge of sandy material, 
destitute almost of every element that supports vegeta- 
ble life. 

PREPARATION OF THE LAND. 

The light grayish, sandy soil, with a yellowish, 
clayey or sandy subsoil, being selected, preference is 
given in nearly all the yellow-tobacco-growing districts 
to new lands, or rather to old fields that have grown up 
m pines and chinquapin bushes and cleared a second 
time. In Granville county, North Carolina, in the 
South Carolina tobacco districts, and in Halifax county, 
Virginia, the best farmers, however, prefer old lands, 
upon which some grain or grass crop had been grown 
the previous year. The rotation with tobacco in the 
South Carolina and in the Champaign district of North 



360 TOBACCO LEAF. 

Carolina, is cow peas, clover, or grass, tobacco being put 
on the same land every third year. Tobacco is often 
put in after an oat crop and also after hog weeds. It 
seems to be a conclusion, reached after much experi- 
mentation, that pine, or wheat straw, or coarse mold 
from the forest, plowed under in the fall, will cause 
tobacco to ripen yellow on the hill. Old land makes the 
heaviest product ; new land the brightest tobacco. 

If old land is selected, it is broken in the fall with 
a two-horse turning plow and rebroken with a single 
plow in the spring, often applying all the manure that 
can be raked up about the farmyard. This second 
plowing should only be half as deep as the first. In 
South Carolina, where very handsome yellow tobacco is 
now produced, the practice, after breaking in the fall, is 




FIG. 105. HANGEK FOR LEAVES IN 8XOW BARN. 

to lay off the ground in January, or early in February, 
in rows three feet six inches in width, and then dis- 
tribute the manure in these rows, covering it lightly. 
About the middle of April run a furrow in the same 
place where the manure was distributed, and drill from 
600 to 800 pounds of some good fertilizer to the acre. 
Throw two furrows on this open row. When the time 
for setting the tobacco arrives, drag the beds down with 
a log and pat places 30 inches apart where the plants 
are to be set. 

In North Carolina, Just before the plants are large 
enough to set out, the land is either rebroken and har- 
rowed, or plowed with cultivators, and then harrowed 
until it becomes well pulverized. After this it is laid 
off into rows three and one-quarter, or three and one- 



YELLOW TOBACCO. 



361 




half, feet apart, and in these rows about 75 bushels of 
stable manure, and from 3o0 to 800 pounds of some 
good commercial fertilizers, are distributed per acre. 
The fertilizers used are highly ammoniated guano, or 
supei-phosphates of lime, containing about eight per 
cent of phosphoric acid, three per cent of ammonia, and 
three per cent of potash. It is believed that too much 
potash will cause small, white specks (''frog eye") to 
appear on the leaves, TTpon this fertilized row two 
furrows are thrown, making a ridge. Over this ridge a 
drag is run, leveling it down to the general level of the 
surface of the ground. Shallow rows 
are run at right angles to these decap- 
itated ridges, and the land is ready for 
planting. In East Tennessee, the rows 
are run off from three to three and 
one-half feet, and the hills made from 
18 inches to three feet in the row. j,.j(, ^^g 

The hills align only one way and :ire hooks on lath. 
made over the fertilizers dropped in the row. In parts 
of Virginia, the practice is to throw four fuirows instead 
of two on the fertilized row. This wide bed is then cut 
off and patted ut intervals of two feet ten inches, the 
patted spots indicating the places for setting the plants. 
Tobacco set out with the plants aligning only in one 
direction can be plowed in one way only. . 

The planting and cultivation of the crop and the 
worming and suckering are done in the same manner, or 
with but little variation, that has already been de- 
scribed in the chapter on heavy shipping tobacco. In 
South Carolina, the planting begins about the 10th of 
April, in North Carolina and Virginia, from the 1st of 
May to the 10th, and the season continues until the 
10th of June. In some parts of East Tennessee, nota- 
bly Hamblen county, tobacco planted on new lands is 
not plowed in cultivating it, but simply hoed twice. 



362 TOBACCO LEAF. 

The last time a little dirt is j)ulled up to the plants. 
The number of leaves left in topping the plant is some- 
times greater. Hardy, vigorous plants are topped very 
often to 14 leaves, hut the general practice is to leave 
10 or 12, the first topping, and diminish the number in 
subsequent toppings. A larger number of leaves is 
usually left where harvesting is done by picking off the 
leaves. Before topping, the lower leaves are taken off. 
They form a hiding place for the horn worm during the 
heat of the day. 

HARVESTING OF YELLOW TOBACCO. 

From two to four weeks in the Champaign districts, 
and from three to five weeks in the Piedmont districts, 
and from six to eight weeks in the mountainous dis- 
tricts, after the plants have been topped, the harvesting 
begins. Usually in the Champaign districts tlie first 
ripening of plants takes place about the 25th of July, 
while it is two or four weeks later in the Piedmont and 
mountainous districts. In all the yellow tobacco region 
two methods are employed in harvesting the crop. One 
is to strip the leaves from the plant as they ripen, and 
the other is to cut the whole plant, as in the heavy 
shipping districts. The first method is growing in pop- 
ularity, and is almost universally employed in the new 
districts, where habit has not sanctioned and fixed the 
second method, that is, of cutting the entire plant. 
The new tobacco districts are more open to improve- 
ments than the old. Many intelligent growers, who use 
both methods, say that much better ''cures" are made 
when the leaves are successively stripped from the stalk. 
Other planters, equally as intelligent, say that the 
tobacco lacks oil when so cured. When the stripping 
method is employed, the leaves, as they ripen, are 
pulled from the stalk, put in baskets (Fig. 104), or tied 
in a cloth, and sometimes taken directly from the strip- 



YELLOW TOBACCO. 363 

pers to a wagon and carried to the barn, where they are 
strung upon sticks, either with wire or twine. Others 
carry them to a brush harbor, wliich protects them from 
the sun, and where they are strung on sticks before 
being taken to the curing house. 

Mr. John Sims, of Halifax county, Virginia, who is 
an okl and successful tobacco grower, writes that there 
are several patents for stringing with wire. One of 
these consists of a stick four and a half feet long, with 
several wires twisted around at intervals of about eight 
inches. These wires extend out in opposite directions, 
about five inches perpendicular to the stick, Fig. 105. 
On each of these projections four 
or five leaves of tobacco are strung, 
by piercing the thick part of tlie 
stem with the wire. Each stick 
will hold from 60 to 70 leaves. 
Another patent has simply the wire 
bent in the middle so as to hug tlie 
stick. These wires, after they are 
filled with leaves, are slipped over ^^^ ^^^ 

the stick. We doubt the validity draw twist for tying 
of these patents, as similar devices leaves to poles. 
(Fig. 106) were used in the Connecticut valley long 
before these patents were taken out. The objection to 
the use of both of these appliances is that they are 
expensive, and that the tobacco cannot be bulked down 
while remaining on the sticks, which is often necessary, 
and it is also frequently necessary to hang it up on the 
tier poles again for reordering. 

Mr. Sims says: ''The easiest, cheapest and most 
convenient way is to use ordinary twine, or cotton 
strings large enough for bag strings. Cut off a piece 
about twice as long as a tobacco stick, and loop the mid- 
dle of the string over the center of the stick. Place one 
end of the stick against the wall of the barn, and the 




3 04 • TOBACCO LEAF. 

other end against the stomach, so as to have the use of 
both hands. With one end of the string in the right 
hand, have a boy to hand three leaves at a time. Grasp 
these in the left hand and place them close to the stick, 
then wrap the string from you around the leaves, one 
half an inch from the ends of the stems, then turn the 
leaves completely over and across the stick, thus form- 
ing a draw twist (Fig. 107), which will never come off. 
The next three leaves are thrown over on the other side 
of the stick, and thus each trio of leaves is thrown 
alternately on one side and the other. Nine or ten 
bunches will fill half the stick (Fig. 108), and the string 
is fastened by drawing it through a sloping cut in the 
stick made from the person. The stick is then turned, 
and the other end filled in like manner." Tobacco tied 
with strings can be easily taken down and put in 
''coops," or hung in a pit to order for stripping. 

It is claimed that this twist is covered by a valid 
patent. This method has long been in use in the Con- 
necticut valley, where the whole plant, instead of a bun- 
dle of leaves, is tied upon the poles with string. Some 
still persist in twisting the string between the plant and 
the stick, but most growers long since gave up that twist 
as wholly unnecessary. The quickest way is good 
enough if the string is kept taut : Fix the string to a 
nail or slit in the end of the pole, pass it around the 
further side of the first plant, thence across to the next 
plant or bundle, the same as shown in pictures, without 
bothering with the twist at all. 

Mr. J. B. Smith, of Milton, K C, a strong advo- 
cate of the new method of housing tobacco by stripping 
the leaves from the stalk, says that the most important 
advantages of the new process over the old are : 

1. The planter can begin to house his crop from 
two to four weeks earlier. 2. Everything is saved, 
and there is no loss by "firing on the hill." 3. As the 



YELLOW TOBACCO. 365 

lower leaves are pulled off, those left on the stalk ripen 
up and yellow more rapidly, which enables the planter 
to get in his crop earlier in the season. 4. Tobacco 
can be cured a more uniform color. 5. Less fuel will 
be required. 6. The risk of setting fire to the barn 
will be greatly lessened. 7. The tobacco can be stored 
in a much smaller space, and with no danger of losing 
color, or of m.old. 8. By this process enough leaves, 
which are lost by the old process, will be saved to pay 
for the fertilizer necessary to grow the crop, also to pay 
for all extra labor needed in housing the same. 9. It 
will help to solve the problem of overproduction, by 
grading up the tobacco in our section so as to place us 
above the competition of those sections wliich grow low 
grades of tobacco, which in the past few years has proved 
so detrimental to our pockets. 

When the whole stalk is cut, in harvesting, it is 
not put upon the ground to wilt, as is done in the heavy , 




FIG. 108. POLE WITH "HANDS" OF LEAVES TIED ON EITHER SIDE. 

tobacco districts. Two men cut, while another person 
holds a stick convenient for them to straddle each plant 
over it as it is severed from the ground. The stick, 
when it has six or seven plants on it, is taken to a wagon 
and either cooped or hung in a frame made for hauling 
green tobacco. Or it may be hauled on a sled, as seen 
in Fig. 109. When the tobacco is loaded, it is taken to 
the barn and arranged on tiers from eight inches to a 
foot apart. 

There is no question that this is a much neater and 
safer plan for housing tobacco than that employed in 
the other tobacco districts, where it is put upon the 
ground to wilt, but the method practiced in the yellow 



366 TOBACCO LEAF. 

tobacco districts could not be employed where the plants 
are very large and very heavy without the greatest in- 
jury from breaking and bruising the leaves. The 
ripened plants of yellow tobacco are small, with delicate 
midrib, and may, with a little care, be handled with 
safety witliout being wilted. The dangers to be appre- 
hended from sunburn, rains, dirt, and bruising from 
handling, are all lessened by putting the plants on the 
sticks as they are cut. 

MANAGEMENT OF YELLOW TOBACCO AFTER 
CURING. 

Curing yellow tobacco has been described in Chap- 
ter X. Generally the following morning, after the fires 
under the tobacco have died out, if the doors are left open, 
the plants will be sufficiently limp to be handled without 
breaking. But should there not be enough humidity in 
the atmosphere to make the plants supple, wet straw 
should be scattered over the floor of the barn, and the 
doors shut so as to exclude the dry atmosphere. In 24 
hours the tobacco will be in such order that it may be 
handled without damage. This result may be hastened 
by building small fires in the furnaces, and placing ves- 
sels containing water over the flues. When in order, the 
tobacco is *' cooped" down on a platform, without re- 
moving it from the sticks, with the butts out and the 
tails lajjping. The best way is to make a shingle pile of 
six or eight sticks, and then shingle backwards and for- 
wards, in this way building up a pile five or six feet high 
and eight or ten feet long. Staying in such a pile 
greatly improves the color, and makes the leaves smooth 
and neat in appearance. The leaves should be soft and 
the stems hard half way from the butts to the tails, when 
the tobacco is taken down. It must be borne in mind, 
that any green stalks or stems will prove highly injurious 
to the tobacco so bulked down. When the leaves have 



YELLOW TOBACCO. 



o n ^ 

oh i 



been stripped from the stalk in housing, they are taken 
down in tlie same manner, but the condition of the 
stems must be carefnlly inspected. 

The best planters now have, under their assorting 
and stripping rooms, a cellar six or eight feet deep, with 
tier poles put in, npon which the tobacco may be hung 




FKi. l(>i>. HVKVKSTING YELLOW TOBACCO. 
These plants were strung on sticks in field and drawn to barn on sled. Flues 
with return pipes shown in front of barn. Coffee county, Central Tennessee. 

to bring it into any order that may be required. Such 
a cellar makes one independent of the weather, and per- 
mits the work to go on at all times. 

The assortinu' of yellow tobacco requires a strong 
light and a discriminating eye for colors on the part of 
the assorter. From six to fifteen grades are made" by 



368 TOBACCO LEAF. 

the planters. In fact, the prices depend, in a large 
measure, upon proper grading. 

Bright wrappers are sometimes classified into three 
or more grades, as orange, lemon and mahogany ; lugs 
into two or more grades, as sand and smooth lugs. 
Sometimes a third grade is made, called wrapping lugs. 
When the grade between the wrappers and lugs is of 
good body, and sweet, it is called fillers. When it is 
thin or light bodied, it is called cutters. These two 
classes, or grades, are sometimes interchangeable. The 
smokers are good bright lugs, or worm-eaten leaves of 
bright color. The highest grade of the yellow tobacco, 
and that which commands the best prices, has a large 
leaf of a bright lemon color, with yellow fibers, of good 
body, with silky texture, tough, elastic, oily, with no 
holes or spots or ragged edges. It is not unusual for 
this grade to bring 40 to 65 cents per pound. From 
this grade are made "extra wrappers." Orange-yellow 
perfect leaves command the next highest prices, then 
the mahogany wrapper. Clear yellow trash, or lugs 
greatly torn, will bring more money than perfect leaves 
that have a dull, greenish appearance. In fact, to avoid 
curing a crop green is the greatest ambition of the yel- 
low-tobacco grower, and his success depends largely 
upon his ability to reduce the greenish-tinged tobacco to 
the minimum. Thin, papery tobacco, brittle, inelastic, 
easily torn and destitute of oil, will not bring a good 
price, however good the color may be. 

The classification, as adopted in the Danville, Va., 
market, probably the largest yellow-tobacco market in 
the world, is as follows : 

Wrappers. — The picked leaves, finest and brightest 
and most perfect leaves on the stalk. This grade will 
make one-sixth of the crop. 

Fillers. — This is every grade except smokers, wrap- 
pers and cutters, and constitutes about one-half the croj). 



YELLOW TOBACCO. 369 

SmoTcers. — Generally the lug leaves, which are the 
bottom leaves, and torn, worm-eaten or bruised leaves; 
in the aggregate making one-sixth of the crop. 

Cutters. — Inferior to the wrajipers, and superior to 
the smokers, deficient in color to wrappers, but more 
perfect leaves and heavier in body than smokers. These 
constitute one-sixth of the crop sold. 

The descrij)tion of the sub-grades is as follows : 

Wrappers. — 1. Common wrappers : Lowest grade 
of wrapper, and only a grade above a bright filler. 
2. Medium wrapper : Not uniform in color, dingy, or 
piebald, but of good form and quality. 3. Good wrap- 
per : Tobacco of heavy body, orange color, generally 
styled mahogany. 4. Fine wrapper : Second grade of 
lemon color, but inferior to the fancy. 5. Fancy 
wrapper : Fine, delicate fiber, silky, fresh lemon color, 
very leafy, perfect leaves, and the highest class made in 
assorting. 

Fillers. — 1. Common : All of the inferior and 
nondescript grades. 2. Medium : Good, rich lugs, 
and the dark leaves with good body. 3. Good : Tips, 
and the better and brighter heavy lugs and short leaves 
with body. 4. Fine : All the brightest, best and rich- 
est leaves next below common wrapper, and generally of 
a gray and cherry-red color. 

Smokers. — 1. Lowest grade : Worm-eaten and 
discolored. 2. Brown and short leaves. 3. Grade 
above four, and not so colory. 4. Best smooth lugs, 
which make the highest class of smokers. 

Cutters. — 1. Thin, papery leaves, thrown out from 
fine fillers when assorting ; lowest grade. 2. Same 
grade as three, but not so colory. 3. Fine cutters, 
leafy and inferior leaves taken from stalk that produced 
the best wrappers. 



24 



CHAPTER XVI. 

PERIQUE TOBACCO. 

Of all the product of the tobacco plant in America, 
the Perique — its culture, curing and preparation for 
market — is the most interesting ; not on account of the 
quantity produced, or of its importance to commerce, 
but because of the peculiarity of the people by whom it 
is grown, and the singular method by which it is cured. 
Its culture is confined to a very limited area in Louis- 
iana, and to a class of people whose history is full of 
suffering and patlios — the Arcadians. 

One of their number, Pierre Chenet, introduced the 
cultivation of tobacco and taught his countrymen how 
to prepare it for market, by making tightly wrapped 
rolls, called carottes, that could be carried to market 
and handled with ease. In his honor, the tobacco so 
prepared was called Perique. For nearly 100 years this 
tobacco has been grown in St. James Parish, with but 
little vai'iation as to quantity, except when calamity 
visits the people. In 1859 the product of the Parish 
was 32,000 pounds, in 1869 it was reduced to 3450 
])()unds, by reason of political troubles. In 1879 it rose 
to 14,080 pounds, and in 1889 the quantity produced 
was almost identical with that of 1859, being 22,360 
pounds. 

There are two places in St. James Parish where 
Perique tobacco is grown. One of the points lies imme- 
diately on the left bank of the Mississippi river, the 
post village Convent being about the longitudinal center. 
The other is on the same side of the river at Grande 

370 



PERIQUE TOBACCO. 371 

Pointe, which is three miles from the river, und occu- 
pies an insular position beyond the swamps, which here 
run parallel with the course of the river. 

These spots are elevated only a few feet above the 
encompassing swamps, but they are well drained and 
have friable, sandy and calcareous soils, black, deep and 
exceedingly fertile. Soil here, as well as everywhere, 
has a controlling influence on the quality of the product. 
The soils on the river bank at Convent are a gray allu- 
vium, and the tobacco is brighter in color, but compara- 
tively destitute of gummy matter, and, therefore, not so 
well adapted to the manufacture of Perique as that 
grown in black soils in the Vacheries, where the tobacco 
is fine, but gummy, elastic and of good body. The best 
soils are tliose known as magnolia soils, which are dark 
in color, but made friable by a suitable admixture of 
sand. They are warm and well drained. Black lands 
mixed with yellow sands are the next in order of prefer- 
ence. Where the lands are lacking in the sandy mate- 
rial they compact so closely that the tobacco plant does 
not grow in healthful vigor. 

The variety planted is called the Perique, which 
has a leaf of medium size, is a rapid grower, small 
stem, and fiber tough and gummy, curing to a dark 
brown color. Its rapidity of growth is i)robably due 
to the warm situation and fertile soils on which it is 
produced. 

The making of seed beds is unlike the same work in 
other States. It begins in October. Cow manure at 
that time is applied to the depth of six inches to a 
chosen spot in the forest, and turned under with a 
spade. In December the bed is reworked, but not 
burned, and ditches are cut through it to secure drainage. 
The seed is sown the first of January, and the bed is 
then covered with palmetto leaves, as a safeguard against 
the frosts of February. 



372 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



The land is broken to the depth of six or eight 
inches in January when it is dry enongh to be worked. 
If plowed too wet, and hot suns supervene, the land 
becomes as hard as a sun-dried brick. Another plowing 
is given to the soil about the middle of February, when 
furrows are run from four to five feet apart and beds 
thrown on these. Towards the end of February a rake 
is run over the beds, or ridges, giving each a wide, level 
top. Other beds are then thrown on top of the original 
beds with a one-horse plow, and the top of the new bed 
raked off with a hand rake. The plants are then set 




FI«. 110. CUKING PERIQUE TOBACCO. 

out three feet apart on the beds, usually upon the heel 
of a good shower, but frequently the plants are set in 
dry weather and watered every evening for several days. 
The main planting takes place about the last week in 
February, or the first week in March. The cultivation 
is all done one way. 

The crop is cultivated in much the same manner as 
in other tobacco growing sections, the main purpose 
being to keep the land loose and to destroy all weeds 
and grasses that spring up. Topping is done about the 
15th of May, without priming the plant. Early in the 
season, from 1^ to 18 leaves are left on each plant, fewer 



PERIQUE TOBACCO. 373 

as the season advances. There is no essential difference 
in the manner of snckering and worming the crop 
between the growers of Perique and the growers of other 
types. 

Harvesting begins about the last of June, and it is 
deemed highly important that the cutting of the plant 
sliould be preceded by copious dews, that appear to give 
a great activity to the secreting organs in storing up the 
rich juices and gums in the vesicular system that give 
flavor and strength to the cured product. The plants, 
without having the stalks split, are cut with a hatchet 
during the hottest part of the day, about three inches 
above the ground, leaving two or three leaves bespat- 
tered with dirt on the stump. Hands stand ready to 
take the tobacco to a shed as fast as it is cut. No 
tobacco sticks are used. Small pieces of cane are sharp- 
ened and one is driven into each plant of tobacco near 
the end where it was severed, giving the cane such an 
angle with the stalk as to form a hook. The plants are 
suspended by these hooks upon ropes stretched one foot 
apart longitudinally in the shed, as shown in Fig. 110. 
As the plants wilt, they are pushed up closer together. 
No artificial heat is used in curing. 

As rapidly as the leafy part of the leaves become 
embrowned, without waiting for the midrib to be cured, 
the plants are taken down from the ropes and the leaves 
pulled from the stalk. The first leaves are taken off in 
about ten days after the tobacco is put in the shed. 
After this two or three leaves are taken from the stalk, 
at intervals of a few days, until the stalk is bare. The 
stem or midrib, often green, is taken out immediately 
after the leaves are pulled from the stalk, and these 
"strips," or half -leaves, are made into loose twists, 
some 15 or 20 leaves being put together. A dozen, or 
more, of these twists are packed in a box 11 inches 
square, with a capacity of holding 50 pounds. 



374 TOBACCO LEAF. 

When the box has been filled nearly to the top, it is 
put under a lever press, the lever being about 12 feet 
long, to the ends of which heavy weights are attached 
so as to bring a pressure of about 7000 pounds upon the 
tobacco in the box. After the tobacco has been under 
this continual pressure for 24 hours, it is taken out and 
the twists are opened, shaken and exposed to the air for 
a short time until the exuded juices are reabsorbed. 
These juices resemble thin tar, being black, thick and 
ropy. After this curing, the twists are again put under 
pressure for 24 hours, and tlien aired for a second time. 
This process continues with each box of tobacco for 10 
days in succession, and then the manipulation is less 
frequent, once in every three or four days being deemed 
sufficient. When the tobacco, at the expiration of 
some three months, is fully cured in its own juices, it 
diffuses a rich, spirituous, aromatic odor, exceeJingly 
agreeable, the results of the aeration and absorption of 
its own juices. From a light brown, the tobacco has 
gradually grown darker, until, at the close of the 
process, it shines in oily and lustrous blackness. 

The Perique tobacco is cured and preserved by the 
resinous and fatty substances, and the alkaloids and 
acids contained in the natural leaf. The pressure of a 
screw will not answer the jjurpose, for in that case the 
juices would be gradually reabsorbed without being 
aerated. It is important that there be a C(mtinuity of 
pressure, so as to keep the juices pressed from the leaf. 
Dr. Gideon E. Moore, who spent much time in investi- 
gating for the government the changes that take place 
in the tobacco plant by different methods of curing, says: 

"In the case of Perique tobacco, 'cured in its 
juices,' we have manifestly an instance of a conversion 
of a large portion of both the citric and the malic acids 
into acetic and butyric acid, and the agreeable, fruity 
odor which this tobacco acquires during the fermenta- 



PERIQUE TOBACCO. 375 

tion, while partly due to these acids, would indicate the 
presence of substances similar to the volatile oil ob- 
tained by Liebig, during the fermentation of malic 
acid. The Perique tobacco," he says, "contains but 
little over one-fourth of the citric acid, but one-half of 
the nitric acid, and about six times the amount of acetic 
acid contained in the air-cured-leaf. " Tiiere was a total 
absence of nitric acid in the Perique cured in its juices, 
but it was present in the air-cured sample. 

The robe, or wrapjjer, leaves are the highest grade 
of product. They constitute 10 per cent of the usual 
crop. Tlie next grade is good leaf, which forms the 
fillers for chewing tobacco. This grade usually forms 
one-half the crop. Smokers, or the lowest grade, are 
made of the lower leaves of the plant, and constitute 40 




FIG. 111. CAROTTE OF PERIQUE TOBACCO. 

per cent of the crop ordinarily. All these grades are 
kept in separate twists. 

After the tobacco has been properly assorted and 
cured, it is jiut into cylindrical rolls called carottes, each 
carotte usually containing four pounds of tobacco, but 
sometimes carottes weighing one pound are put up for 
local demand. To put up a carotte, the tobacco is taken 
from under pressure, each leaf ojiened, straightened and 
aired. A cotton cloth, 24x18 inches, is laid upon a 
table and covered with robe or wrapper leaves, the 
under surface of the leaf being turned, uppermost. The 
fibers of the leaves are so arranged as to point to the 
middle longitudinal line of the cloth. A layer of filler 
leaves, one-half inch in thickness, is placed on the wrap- 
per leaves, extending to within one inch of the edge of the 



376 TOBACCO LEAF. 

cloth. Over this layer of leaves a second cloth is placed 
and the tobacco tramped. The layer of tobacco then is 
doubled over at each end about three inches and 
tramped again. The entire mass — cloth, wrappers and 
fillers — is then rolled into a cylinder fifteen inches long 
and three inches in diameter, a hole being kept through 
the center, making a tube, into which the ends of the 
wrapper leaves are tucked. The ends of the cloth are 
then tied with strings, and a rope, one-third of an inch 
in diameter, is wound tightly into a coil around the roll 
from end to end, by the use of a windlass made for the 
purpose. The rope is removed from the roll at the end 
of 24 hours, and then rewound more tightly. The 
carotte is then ready for market. A day's work for a 
man, assisted by a boy, is 10 carottes a day. 

These carottes are usually put up during the winter 
months, and this work employs every member of the 
household in taking the twists from the presses and 
opening them, straightening and weighing the tobacco, 
before putting it into carottes. The tobacco often 
remains under pressure for twelve months, and it is said 
to grow sweeter and better with time. As there is a 
demand for it, the tobacco is put into carottes. The 
carottes form a species of currency with the local mer- 
cliants, and they are always taken in exchange for goods, 
or received in payment of debts. 

Though the production is small, it has established 
a character throughout two continents for its rare qual- 
ities. It is unlike any other tobacco grown, in taste and 
flavor, and those who use it claim that it has more aroma 
than any other type ; that it is free from the acrid, 
biting, creosotic taste so common in other Southern- 
grown tobaccos ; that it has a rich, fragrant odor, with 
a smooth, delicate and agreeable taste, and that it stim- 
ulates the action of the brain without impairing the 
organs of digestion, or affecting the nervous system. 



PART III. 

Cigar Leaf tobaccos. 




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CHAPTER XVII. 

GEN^ERAL CONSIDERATIONS OF CIGAR LEAF. 

The most difficult kind of tobacco to produce in 
perfection, is the leaf used in the manufacture of cigars 
of the finest quality. Until the advent of wrappers im- 
ported from the island of Sumatra, the most popular 
cigar in the United States was one made with Havana 
fillers (grown in Cuba), bound with Connecticut binders, 
and wrapped with the finest selections of Connecticut 
broadleaf or Connecticut-valley-grown Havana seedleaf. 
Selections from the cigar-leaf tobacco grown in the 
Onondaga and Chemung valleys of Central New York, 
Lancaster and Bucks counties, Pa., the Miami valley of 
Ohio, and Dane and Rock counties in Wisconsin, have 
also been used in the place of, or in addition to, Connec- 
ticut leaf. In some years the crop, in some one or two 
of these sections, may be superior to that grown in other 
parts of the cigar-leaf States. Inferior cigar-leaf tobac- 
cos are largely used in making the cheaper grades of 
smokers, stogies, etc. Some years part of the crop is so 
poor in quality as to be unsuitable even for this purpose. 
In that event, it is usually sold for export to Germany, 
and used in manufacturing the low grade smoking to- 
baccos and so-called cigars common in the low countries 
of Europe. 

Since the advent of Sumatran wrappers, the indus- 
try has been considerably depressed, because the use of 
Sumatran wrappers displaced great quantities of domes- 
tic leaf. This Sumatran leaf is no better in appearance 
than the best American wrappers, and is destitute of 

379 



380 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



quality or aroma, but is used because it is so light and 
thin that but two pounds of it are required to wrap 1000 
cigars, whereas four to ten pounds of American leaf are 
needed to cover that number of cigars, owing to the 
heavier weight of domestic wrapj^ers, which, however, 
are superior in other respects. This Sumatran leaf got 
its foothold in the American market by the grossest cus- 
toms frauds. The tariff of 1883 imposed a duty of 75 
cents per pound on leaf suitable for cigar wraj)pers, but 
this was avoided by importing Sumatran leaf as fillers at 
only 35 cents per pound. Government was thus swin- 
dled out of millions of revenue, while at the same time 
domestic leaf was driven out of the home market. In 
the tariff of 1890, the duty Avas raised to two dollars per 
pound on leaf suitable for wrappers, being left at 35 
cents on fillers. In anticipation of higher rates, how- 
ever, nearly two years' supply of Sumatran leaf was 
imported before the latter went into effect, and has since 
continued on a large scale, as the following table shows : 

Table V.— IMPORTS OF LEAF TOBACCO INTO THE UNITED STATES. 

(In mlUions of pounds and doUars.) 



Yrs. Ended 


From 
Lbs. 


Cuba 
"Value. 


FromS 
Lbs. 


Liniiitra 
Value. 


OtliCountries 


Total 1 


niporls 


June 30. 


Lbs. 


Value 


Lbs. 
9.7 


Value. 


1880, 


9.3 


4.7 






0.5 


0.2 


4.9 


1885, 


9.7 


3.9 


2.2 


1.9 


0.9 


0.5 


12.9 


6.3 


1886, 


10.9 


4.1 


4.0 


3.4 


0.8 


0.4 


15.7 


7.8 


1887, 


11.8 


4.4 


4.2 


3.6 


1.5 


0.7 


17.5 


8.7 


1888, 


11.5 


4.6 


5.9 


5.6 


1.2 


0.6 


18.6 


10.9 


1889. 


13.4 


5.7 


5.0 


4.3 


1.6 


0.8 


20.1 


10.9 


1890, 


10.9 


7.1 


9.7 


9.0 


2.1 


1.5 


28.7 


17.6 


1891, 


16.1 


7.1 


4.9 


4.7 


2.1 


1.5 


23.1 


13.3 


1892, 


18.4 


8.0 


2.7 


1.9 


0.9 


0.4 


22.0 


10.3 


1893, 


21.7 


8.9 


5.4 


5.1 


1.0 


0.7 


28.1 


14.7 


1894, 


14.6 


5.8 


3.9 


4.5 


1.2 


0.6 


19.7 


11.0 


1895, 


19.7 


7.2 


5.1 


6.7 


1.8 


0.9 


26.7 


14.7 


189G, 


26.5 


10.5 


4.3 


4.7 


2.1 
17.2 


1.3 

9.9 


32.9 


16.5 


Total '85-'96 


191.2 


77.3 


57.3 


55.4 


266.0 


142.7 



In explanation of this table, it should be said that 
practically all the leaf imported from Sumatra (the bulk 
of which comes via Amsterdam) is suitable for cigar 
wrappers, while only a small fraction of the Cuban leaf 
is used for this purpose, say 15 to 30 per cent. The leaf 



CONSIDERATIONS OF CIGAR LEAF. 381 

imported from other countries is mainly fillers. There 
is no longer doubt but that the United States can pro- 
duce an abundance of both fillers and wrappers, and it is 
not surprising that American farmers should insist upon 
having the American market for all grades of cigar leaf. 
It will be seen that during the 12 years for which statis- 
tics are given, nearly 1150,000,000 has been paid out for 
this imported leaf. More than one-third of this has 
been for Sumatran wrappers, which displace the Ameri- 
can product. Since 1885, the average importation of 
this Sumatran intruder has been 4,775,000 pounds annu- 
ally. As only about two pounds of it are required to 
wrap 1000 cigars, the supply has been sufficient to cover 
an average of over 2o00 million cigars annually, or more 
than half the average production of cigars in the United 
States. The wonder is, that our domestic cigar wrapper 
leaf industry has stood up so well under such terrific 
and unfair competition. 

It is now evident, however, that higher duties on 
wrap})er leaf are likely to prevail for years to come. 
Meanwhile, there is a more confident feeling among 
growers in the future of the cigar-leaf industry, the 
more so because of the immense development of cigar 
manufacture and consumption, as set forth in Chapter 
II. But the marvelous i)rofits of the Sumatran tobacco 
syndicates have directed the attention of other countries 
to the possibilities of growing tobacco for cigar purposes. 
Borneo, Manilla and other Eastern islands are experiment- 
ing extensively and intelligently, while Mexico, Central 
America and certain sections of South America are giving 
more attention to the same industry. In Mexico, quite 
a boom in cigar-leaf tobacco culture has been developed 
during the past few years, and some of the Mexican leaf 
is of promising quality, in spite of the crude conditions 
under which it is grown. We may see quite a develop- 
ment of cigar-leaf culture in the Hawaiian islands also. 



382 TOBACCO LEAF. 

The famous Havana tobacco of Cuba will probably 
be produced on a much larger scale, and of even finer 
quality, when a stable government has been established 
in that island, that will encourage enterprise and thrift. 
The attractive qualities of the best grades of Havana 
leaf, especially from Vuelta de Abajo, are due more to 
the peculiar climate and soil of that region than to 
methods of culture. These are still crude in the ex- 
treme, owing to the natural indolence of the Creole 
planters. The best lands are flooded during the rainy 
season, and when the waters recede, a deposit of rich 
alluvium is left, but the rainfall is so uncertain, and 
irrigation not being practiced, that only one extra-prime 
croj) can be counted on every five years, although one or 
two medium good crops may be obtained in the interval. 
Even where efforts have been made to produce larger 
crops by the use of manures or fertilizers, the work has 
not been done with judgment, and in some instances the 
burn and other qualities have been injuriously affected, 
— not so much because of the plant food, as of the igno- 
rance in its use. It is very evident that the quantity of 
leaf produced on the island of Cuba can be enormously 
extended, and probably its quality improved, by the ap- 
plication of intelligence, brains and energy. This fact 
must also be borne in mind, in considering the future of 
the cigar-leaf crop of the United States. 

On the island of Sumatra, however, cigar-wrapper 
tobacco culture has been reduced to a science, being con- 
trolled mainly by a few Dutch syndicates. Latterly, 
however, these people have tried to " kill the goose 
that lays the golden egg," by forcing a large yield 
through improper fertilization, not realizing the judg- 
ment tliat must be employed in artificially feeding this 
delicate plant. In 1895, there were 26 stock companies 
and 21 private plantations engaged in the industry on 
the east coast. The rapidity with which the industry 



CONSIDERATIO>[S OF CIGxi^R LEAF. 



383 



has developed since this leaf got a foothold on the 
American market is shown in the accompanying table : 

Table VI.— SUMATRA TOBACCO— QUANTITY AND VALUE. 



Crop. 


Kales. 


Value 


Crop. 


Crop. 


Kales. 


Value 


Croji. 


Year. 


175 lbs. 


per lb.* 


Value.* 


Year. 


175 lbs. 


per lb.* 


Value.* 


18G4, 


.50 


17 2-5c 


$1,600 


1880, 


64,964 


40 3-4C 


$4,530,000 


1805, 


189 


Ml-5 


16.000 


1881, 


82,356 


413-4 


5.792,000 


1866, 


174 


41 


12,000 


1XH2, 


102.050 


49 3-4 


8.566,000 


1867, 


224 


25 2-5 


8,000 


is,s3, 


93, .530 


48 


7,t;20 000 


1868, 


890 


513-5 


80.000 


1884, 


125,204 


52 3-5 


10,900,000 


1869, 


1,381 


4(3 4-5 


100,000 


1885, 


124.718 


512-5 


10,720,000 


1870, 


3,114 


44 1-5 


200.000 


1886, 


139,512 


56 


13,080,000 


1871, 


3.922 


49 4-5 


300.000 


1887, 


144,400 


43 4-5 


10,560,000 


1872, 


6,409 


47 4 5 


400.000 


1888, 


82,284 


4<>2-5 


14,200,000 


1873, 


9,238 


66 


1,000.000 


1889, 


182,241 


53 


16,180,000 


1874, 


12.895 


54 2-5 


1,140.000 


1890, 


234,062 


26 1-4 


10,320,000 


1875. 


15,a55 


61 4-5 


l..-)(;o.ooo 


1H91, 


225,629 


33 2-5 


12,640,000 


1876, 


29,030 


.55 1.4 


2,.5so.oon 


1892, 


144,689 


45 3-5 


10,9211,000 


1877, 


3(;,520 


45 3-4 


2,(i70.000 


1893, 


U)9,.520 


.52 2-5 


15,040,000 


1878, 


48,550 


45 


3,648,000 


1894, 


192,767 


43 1-5 


14,000,000 


1879, 


57,553 


42 1-8 


4,120,000 


1895, 


204,347 


32 2-5 


11,330,000 



♦Values are in United States currency. 

The effect of the McKinley duty of $3 per pound on 
wrappers, was to very largely reduce Sumatra's crop in 
1892. Many acres were surrendered to the jungle, and 
the crop that year was almost 100,000 bales less than 
the production of 234,000 bales in 1890. This decrease 
in the supph, and the reduction in the American duty 
to $1.50 per ])ound in l.S'.i-l, gave another stimulus to 
the industry in Sumatra, and the '95 crop reached almost 
as large figures as that of six years earlier. 

The famous Deli Maatschappy, or Pioneer Dutch 
county, produces nearly one-third of the entire Sumatran 
cro]). It- signalized tlie closing of its first quarter-cen- 
tury existence by submitting an elaborate report of its 
operations at the extraordinary general meeting of the 
company at Amsterdam, in November, 1894, from which 
our facts are condensed. It owns 21 establishments, 
and now produces about 60,000 bales yearly. In 1893, 
it paid a dividend of 100 per cent, and the average divi- 
dends paia to its stockholders have been over 75 per cent 
annually since 1880. During the past 23 years it has 
received an average of 50 cents per pound (United States 



384 TOBACCO LEAF. 

currency) for its crop. Starting with a capital of 
$120,000 in 1869, in 1894 its capital was 11,608,000, 
with a reserve fund of ahnost 12,000,000, besides paying 
the enormous dividends alluded to. In the course of 24 
crop years, the company delivered to the Amsterdam 
market a total of 494,491 packages of tobacco, all its 
own product, or about 79,000,000 Amsterdam pounds, 
representing a value of $42,612,000, upon which a clear 
profit was made and paid to shareholders, of more than 
$11,457,000. This concern also handles the product of 
other jjlantations, — as much as 71,000 j)ackages in one 
year. This is done not only for the profit arising from 
commissions on such sales, but to concentrate the entire 
Sumatra tobacco market at Amsterdam. 

The plantations of this mammoth enterprise are 
arranged and conducted in the most businesslike and 
scientific manner. It employs over 16,000 workmen, 
and the European personnel of experts and administra- 
tors consists of 100 persons. Each of the 21 establish- 
ments has its administrator, and four or five assistants. 
The real office is at Medan, where is located an extensive 
hospital for the help, and similar hospitals are provided 
at other points. It has built tine roads, large canals for 
water drainage, railroads, and other public works. 

The Deli Maatschappy's report shows that it was 
instrumental in organizing a combination among the 
13lanters to import coolie labor and jmy it the lowest pos- 
sible price. This policy involved certain features and 
exactions that were most reprehensible, and the result of 
which (in the ordinance of 1880) was to reduce the 
coolies to a condition of practical slavery. One Chinese 
coolie is employed to each one and tliree-fourths acres, 
and is paid from $1 to $8 for each 1000 tobacco plants 
delivered after the harvest. Japanese coolies get $6 a 
month, half as much for women, and board themselves; 
other help and foremen getting $9 to $12 per month and 



CONSIDERATIOifS OF CIGAR LEAF. 385 

boarding themselves. With a plow and two pair of buf- 
falo, about half an acre per day is plowed, after the cane 
brake and tropical growth has been cut away. Expert 
plowmen are paid 18 per month, and board themselves. 

However high the tariff may be to exclude wrapper 
leaf from Sumatra, Mexico, or Cuba, another influence 
is at work tliat is destined to profoundly affect our 
domestic cigar-leaf industry. We refer to the experi- 
ments in cigar-leaf culture at the South and West and 
on the Pacific coast, to which a subsequent chapter is 
devoted. Unless all signs fail, leaf from those sections 
is destined to compete in the home market with crops 
grown in the old seedleaf States. Tt is too early to say 
whether the wrapper leaf industry will ever be driven 
out of the East, as the Eastern grower of wheat, broom 
corn, etc., has been obliged to give up these crops by 
Western competition. 

But it is true that the demand for quality in cigar 
leaf is becoming more and more exacting. It is more true 
of cigar leaf than of manufacturing tobacco, that qual- 
ity governs prices and profits. In many respects, also, 
cigar leaf is a more delicate plant than any of the man- 
ufacturing tobaccos — that is, its quality is more easily 
affected by soils, fertilizers, climate, culture and curing. 
Even after the crop is safely harvested, or properly 
cured, the cigar-leaf grower labors under another great 
disadvantage in having no regularly established market 
prices for his crop, owing to the illogical and unsys- 
tematic method of selling it, as described in Chap- 
ter XII. 

The cost of producing cigar tobacco varies widely, 
even in the same sections. In the Connecticut valley, 
the most careful growers have arrived at the conclusion, 
that, taking one year with another, the actual cost of 
producing the crop ranges from 8 to 13 cents per pound, 
according to its quality and yield per acre. On the 
25 



386 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



s 




FIG. 113. SWEATED AVRAPPERS 



^* Mamt?e''wra'npe? 'jl'lTMrrar.',',."" V'"J '''' •''* J'"<l""""Ok, witl> Mapes T„l,acco 
jurtiiuif, n lappe iSiaiKl. alone. Jeiikiiis reports tliis i>lot a« rankiiur .^t^coiwi 

*"aroAv^" ,l^V,rrcel tihiri^'tf "*"' ^\'"""' '''"* v'thir'.K " aUho ' '1l ere "^ 
,Mai(ei> an> perceptible liitferenee between tlie first five lots n? fni.D,-^,. " 

^y'iir&veLlcceL^ye^'^'''^'''- ^""'^ P'°' ^^'^ received MapeVn^auitre 



§i 



CONSIDERATIONS OF CIGAR LEAF. 387 

cheaper lands of Wisconsin, the cost varies from 5 to 10 
cents, and may be even less in exceptional instances. 
Ordinarily, however, the planter considers that he is 
making very little profit if he gets less than 15 cents 
per pound through, for the entire crop, if grown in the 
Connecticut valley ; 13 cents if grown in New York 
state ; 10 to 14 cents if grown in Pennsylvania ; 8 to 12 
cents in the Miami valley, and about the latter range of 
values in Wisconsin. 

These prices are often exceeded for prime crops in 
prosperous times. One-third of the Connecticut valley 
crop of 1892 was sold at an average of 26 cents per 
pound through, in the bundle on the farm, but when the 
presidential election, in November of that year, fore- 
shadowed a lower tariff, prices rapidly declined, and the 
whole crop was moved only at 12 to 15 cents, averaging 
about 13 cents per pound, causing a loss of $3,200,000 
to the planters of that section on that one crop. The 
decline in the Middle States was proportionately as 
serious. 

<A.side from these political conditions that affect the 
value of cigar-leaf tobacco, pi'ices depend very much on 
the quality of the leaf produced, both in the United 
States and in other countries. Should failures occur 
with the Sumatran crop or in Cuba, or should these 
crops, in any way, prove to be of very inferior quality, 
these circumstances would have a stimulating effect on 
the value of domestic leaf. Should it so happen that 
only one or two States in America, the same year, pro- 
duced a crop of satisfactory quality, the growers of such 
leaf would probably get extraordinary prices. Thus, 
the crop may fluctuate in value very seriously from year 
to year, and even from one part of the season to another. 
It is not always possible to tell at harvest time, or even 
after curing, what the quality of the leaf will be, and 
sometimes a crop that goes into the sweat in apparently 



388 TOBACCO LEAF, 

the most promising condition, will come out of it in a 
very disappointing condition for cigar-making purposes. 
Should this prove true of any considerable proportion of 
the crop, it would increase the demand and prices for 
good crops the succeeding year. Hence, it is quite a 
difficult matter to follow the tobacco market closely in 
all its intricacies. ' Of course the grower should do this 
as well as he can, hut tlie first and essential thing is to 
produce a crop of the finest possible quality. 

How this matter of quality in tobacco for cigar 
wrappers and binders is an undetermined thing. There 
are almost as many ideas about what constitutes quality 
as there are dealers of leaf, manufacturers of cigars, or 
smokers. At the present time, and for several years 
past, qualities upon which all are agreed as desirable are : 
A leaf of light color, free from spots, light in weight, 
fine in texture, containing few and small veins and mid- 
ribs so that it will cnt into wrappers with as little waste 
as possible. Tlie leaf must also have good burning 
qualities, holdiiig fire a reasonable length of time and 
burning with a white ash, and so tliat the ash will hold 
the form of the cigar until knocked off by the smoker. 
All manufacturers and cigar makers want a leaf that is 
not brittle, that is smooth, elastic and supple, yet not 
tough. With all these qualities, some insist upon hav- 
ing a fine gloss, or shiu}'^ appearance, on the wrapped 
cigar. Others don't want that at all. Some prefer leaf 
with a considerable amount of gummy or oily matter, 
and a reasonable amount of it is essential to the proper 
curing and handling of cigar leaf, but too much gum, 
or oil, usually accompanies a leaf of coarse texture and 
other inferiorities. If the leaf has large size, in addi- 
tion to the foregoing qualities, it is also desirable. 

The greater the proportion of fine wrappers in a 
crop, the larger its value. Sometimes a fine crop will 
yield 60 per cent, or more, of prime to good wrappers. 



C0]SrSIDERATI02!fS OF CIGAR LEAF. 389 

25 per cent seconds and balance fillers. A poor crop, 
from tlie same township the same year, may not yield 
more than 10 to 25 per cent wrappers, and these will be 
inferior compared to the fine crop. The proportion of 
wrappers in New England and Pennsylvania leaf is 
usually larger than in New York, Ohio, or Wisconsin 
crops. 

To successfully raise, cure and market cigar wrap- 
per tobacco of the finest quality is, therefore, a business 
of great care and involves constant attention to every 
detail of management at the different stages. The 
importance of attention to these details is of greater 
consequence in this crop than in almost any other that 
is generally grown. To successfully grow the crop, in 
the first place, is a difficult matter, to cure it properly 
is of almost equal importance. A thorough knowledge 
ot every phase of culture and curing is essential to suc- 
cess, and it is difficult to say that one is of more conse- 
quence than the other, but if such a comparison were 
made, the preference would be given to culture ; for, 
although a finely grown crop may be injured by careless 
curing, no skill in curing can make a first-class product 
of a poorly grown leaf. 

The distribution of the cigar-leaf crop has been 
closely studied by the Neio England Homestead, whose 
reports upon it are the accepted authority. Its latest 
data is as follows, comparing the "boom year" of 1893 
with some later crops : 



390 TOBA.CCO LEAF. 



lOTHBER OF PLANTERS ANT) ACREAGE. 





No. of G 


rowers. 


No. 


. of Acres. 




1896 


1892 


1896 


1895 


1892 


New Hampshire, 
Vermont. 
Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, 


29 

48 

953 

2,970 


32 

69 

1.165 

3,353 


43 

120 

2,S49 

8,262 


&1 

108 

2,768 

8,170 


85 

164 

3,666 

9.851 


Total for New England, 


4,000 


4,619 


11,274 


11,100 


13,766 


New York. 
♦Pennsylvania, 
•Ohio, 
•Wisconsin, 


2,324 
9,500 
7,500 
2,800 


4,1-5 
13.425 

8,0u0 
5,160 


4,535 
17 463 
19 01.K) 
10,500 


5.712 
19.435 
22.500 
11,381 


12,272 
30,000 
25.010 
20,000 



Total, 20,124 35,379 62,772 70,128 101,038 

* In the absence of the complete system of keeping tab upon the 

crop in these States which we have perfected for New York and New 

England by a farm-to-farm census, the data for Pennsylvania, Ohio 

and Wisconsin are partly estimated. 

YIELD PER ACRE AXD TOTAL CROP. 

Pounds per Acre. Yield (cases of 350 lbs.) 



New Hampshire, 
Vermont, 
Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, 


1896 
1,575 
1.600 
1,-00 
1,750 

:., 1,656 

1.3.50 

1.500 

800 

1,000 


1895 
1,750 
l,.5-5 
1,681 
1,721 

1.681 

1,274 

1,000 

600 

700 


1892 
1,631 
1.624 
1,633 
1,664 

1,638 

1,882 

1,000 

750 

892 


18% 

548 
13,838 
41,338 


1895 

270 

486 

13,016 

40,190 


1892 

397 

761 

17,104 

47,486 


Total for N. E., A^ 
New York, 
Pennsvlvania, 
Ohio, ■ 
"Wisconsin, 


55,946 
17,492 
74.8*1 
43 41.9 
30,0u0 


53,962 
20.764 
5o,5-28 
3b,5-l 
22 762 


65,748 
43,381 
85 714 
53,600 
51,420 



Total, 221,708 191,587 299,871 

PRICES AND VALTTES. 

Average prices at which the '95 crop sold and at which the market 
for '92 leaf opened are given in this table, together with total value of 
the 1891) crop at (a) the prices paid in 1895 and (fc) could growers get the 
average open prices of 1892. 



Ave 

New Hampshire, 
Vermont. 
Massachusetts, 
Connecticut, 


rage 
1895 
9c 
9c 
9c 
9c 

8c 
6c 
5c 
4c 


Price. 

1892 
25c 
25e 
27c 
26c 

15c 

12c 

9c 

10c 


1896 (a) 

S7.000 

17.000 

436.000 

1,302.000 


Total 

1896 (6) 

§19,500 

48,000 

1,308.000 

3,762,000 


Value of 

1895 

S8,(X)0 

lo.OOO 

410.000 

1,26.5.0(X1 


Crop. 

1892 

§35.000 

64 000 

1.445.000 

4.507,000 


Total for N. E. 
New York, 
Pennsvlvania, 
Oliio, " 
Wisconsin, 


§1,762,000 

90.000 

1.580.000 

759.000 

420,000 


§5,137,500 

918,000 

3,143.000 

1,368.1X10 

1,050.000 


§1,699.000 

581.000 

l,llW,000 

675,000 

318,668 


§6,053,000 
2,278,000 
3.600,000 
1.787,500 
1.799,980 



Total, $3,0U,0O0 §11,616,500 $4,439,668 §15,518,480 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

SPECIAL FERTILIZATION" FOR CIGAR LEAF. 

To definitely settle certain mooted T)ointB in fertili- 
zation for cigar wrappers, a number of progressive 
farmers organized The Connecticnt Tobacco Experiment 
Company in 1892, l)onght a tract of old, worn-out land 
at Poqnonock, and arranged with the Connecticut 
State experiment station to conduct tests on plots of 
one-twentieth of an acre each, upon the following gen- 
eral plan of experiment : 

1. The following experiments should be carried out on 
the same land for at least five years in succession. 

2. While the quantity of crop should be accurately deter- 
mined, very special attention should be given to the judgment 
of its quality for cigar wrappers. This judgment should be 
given by men of large practical experience in the trade in leaf 
tobacco, and the samples should be so submitted that the 
judges should have no knowledge of any particulars regard- 
ing the manner in which the separate lots of leaf were raised. 

3. The final judgment on its quality should be made after 
the leaf has been fermented in the usual way, and the whole 
croj), rather than small samples from each crop, should be fer- 
mented together. 

4. The following questions are those which, as far as 
circumstances permit, should receive immediate attention : 

a. What is the effect on quantity and quality of leaf of 
larger applications of cottonseed meal than are commonly used 
as a fertilizer ? 

h. What is the comparative effect on quantity and quality 
of leaf of applications of castor pomace containing the same 
amounts of nitrogen as the cottonseed meal used in experi- 
ments under a? 

c. If a heavy application of nitrogen, in form of castor 
pomace, proves injurious to the leaf, can the injury be les- 

391 



392 TOBACCO LEAF. 

sened, or prevented, if a half of this quantity of nitrogen is 
supplied by castor pomace and the other half by nitrate of 
soda? 

d. What are the comparative effects on quality and quan- 
tity of leaf of applications of equal quantities of potash in the 
following forms : Cottonhull ashes, high grade sulphate of 
potash, the same with lime, double sulphate of potash and 
magnesia, the same with lime, pure carbonate of potash, and 
pure nitrate of potash ? 

e. Is it possible to absolutely prevent "pole burn" and to 
cure the crop perfectly on the stalk, by the use, in very damp, 
"muggy" weather, of artificial heat simply as a means of 
ventilating and partly drying the air of the barns ? 

The 1896 crop completed the experiments, which 
have been directed by E. H. Jenkins, vice director of the 
station. The interest in this work, the most exhaustive 
of the kind ever attempted, is so great that we have 
compiled a careful summary of the results. This ap- 
pears in the annexed table, which is based on the 
average of the first four crops produced. The quantity 
of the different fertilizing materials applied per acre 
each year varied slightly, but averaged for the four years 
as stated in the table. The same is true of the actual 
plant food contained in these mixtures. The idea was 
to supply the same quantity of potash to each plot, but 
in diffei'ent form. This was also true of phosphoric 
acid, but both the amount and form of nitrogen varied 
considerably. The season of '92 was favorable, and a 
large yield of fine quality was obtained ; the next three 
seasons were comparatively dry. The crops, therefore, 
varied considerably in yield and quality, but the aver- 
age for the four years partly removes these seasonal 
influences, and enables us to judge more clearly of the 
effect of the fertilizers. 



SPECIAL FERTILIZEES. 



393 




Wt Wrap m Ac 
LoiiK Short Total 


Pr ct Wr 

1 L S Tot 


716 


24(1 956 


44 


14 


58 


G'J2 


252 !M4 


44 


17 


61 


790 


275 1065 


46 


16 


62 


960 


266 1226 


51 


15 


66 


765 


275 1040 


43 


15 


58 



394 TOBACCO LEAf. 

Table VII.— fertilizers used, quantity and kind of crop. 

Pint Fprtili»pr ITkoH ^'''' Con'd Lbs of Yield 

l-lot fertilizer Used j^^^.^ pj^ ^^^.j^, p^^^ p_. ^^ j^^ 

A 1500 cottonseed meal, ,,,- ,ro -im kh 

1500 cottunl.uU ashes, ^"^ 1^" ■^■'" l''^^ 

B 1800 linseed meal, ...^ ,,-,1 ..,,. ir,-. 

1500 cotionlmll ashes, ^^^ ^^" •^*" l*^*^! 

C 2500 cottonseed meal, ,„,. ,„_ „.« i.-o£> 

1500 cotton hull ashes, ^'^ ^'^ ^^ ^''^ 

D 3000 cottonseed meal, „,„ ,„„ .,,„ .gQ;; 

1500 cotionhull ashes, ^^^ ^^*^ ^^ ^^^ 

E2000 castor pomace, ,„,- . .„ o^n iTi-i 

1500 coltonhull ashes, ^"^ ^^^ ^''^ ^^^^ 
_ 1800 linseed meal, 

\^ 650 cotlonhiUl ashes, 105 150 150 1653 736 271 1007 45 16 61 
260 l»oiie meal, 

GToocoUonZTSies, ^''" '^0 340 1700 758 266 1024 44 15 59 

li'Zo'^ILX^:^Ues, 210 180 340 18811025 270 1295 53 14 67 

_ 2500 castor ])omace, 

I 1500 cottonhull ashes, 210 150 340 1881 990 256 1246 52 15 67 

640 nitrate of soda, 
_%00 castor pomace, 
J 1500 cottonhull ashes, 210 150 340 1992 1083 295 1378 54 15 69 

640 nitrate of soda, 
-— 1500 cottonseed meal, 
J\_ 1200 double manure 105 150 340 1804 866 275 1141 48 15 63 

salt, 400 bone meal, 
_ 1500 cottonseed meal, 
l^ 1200 double manure salt, 105 150 340 1685 720 290 1010 42 17 59 

400 bi>ne, 300 lime, 

M1500 cottonseed meal, 
600 sulphate of potash, 110 150 340 1725 653 252 905 37 15 52 
400 bone meal, 

N 1500 cottonseed meal, 
600 sulphate of potash, 110 150 340 1721 724 269 993 42 16 58 
400 bone, 300 lime, 

01500 cottonseed meal, 
600 carbonate of potash, 110 150 340 1575 670 249 919 43 16 59 
400 l)one meal, 
_. 1500 cottonseed meal, 

P 1700 don b car' po'sh& 105 150 340 1414 5.50 231 781 38 16 54 

mag, 360 bone meal. 

Average of all the plots, 141 155 328 1718 7;i4 265 1058 45 15 63 

The larger the amount of nitrogen used, the heavier 
was the crop and the hirger the per cent of wrappers. 
(See Plots D, H, I, J.) There were no very marked 
differences in yield dne to the form in which the nitro- 
gen was applied, — castor pomace, G, shows a slight 
advantage over cottonseed meal, D, but when (J) all the 
nitrate of soda was apjilied between the rows, at first 
cultivation, the yield of wrappers averaged 132 pounds 



SPECIAL FERTILIZEKS. 395 

per acre more than Plot I, similarly fed, except that 
half of the nitrate was applied at the first and the bal- 
ance at second cultivating. This fact is directly con- 
trary to theory, and is not due to the absence of suffi- 
cient moisture after the second application to dissolve 
the nitrate so that the plants could feed upon it, because 
the same result was noted during the first dry season 
and the succeeding wet years. 

Linseed meal gave quite as good results in yield and 
quality as cottonseed meal. Indeed, the more moderate 
application per acre, on Plot F, of linseed meal, with 
less than half as much cottonhull ashes as some of the 
other plots, and a little bone meal, produced one of the 
most profitable crops, because cost of fertilizer was 
smaller than on other plots. In view of results on F, it 
is a question whether so much as 340 pounds per acre of 
actual potash is at all necessary. 

The form of potash used seems to have as much 
effect as the quantity. The carbonate of potash gave 
distinctly unfavorable results compared with sulphate, 
which is now used for tobacco by all scientific farmers. 
The jDoorest yield of all was on P, dressed with double 
carbonate of potash and magnesia. Yet tobacco on this 
soil evidently needed magnesia, for on K and L, where 
potash was put on in the form of double manure salt 
(consisting of sulphate of potash united with sulphate 
of magnesia), the yield was considerably better than 
where only high-grade sulphate of potash was concerned. 

With these crops of cigar wrapper leaf, quality 
was what determined their market value. It depends 
upon color, texture, thinness, lightness, freedom from 
spots, holes, coarse ribs or other imjoerfections, burning 
quality, and other even more delicate points. It is not 
possible to intelligently average these points in the four 
years' crops from each plot. But the average number 
of wrappers required to weigh a pound is important, as 



/ 



396 TOBACCO LEAF. 

the thinner the leaf the more cigars it will cover and — ■ 
other (|aalities being e((nal — the more it is worth. The 
McKink^y bill imposed a duty of $2 per pound on wrap- 
pers "of which more than 100 are required to weigh a 
pound." The length of time a cigar will hold its fire is 
also important. Hence, the comparative capacity of 
holding fire was ascertained by careful tests of each 
crop ; the leaf which held fire tlie shortest time in each 
of the four crops was called 100, and the table gives the 
average of these determinations, the larger figures indi- 
cating the longer capacity to hold fire ; the figures under 
the heading "Cured" are the average of fire tests made 
of the 1892-3-4 crops, when pole cured, or barn cured, 
while under "Fer." are given average results of similar 
tests of each of these crops after fermentation. After 
each crop had "gone through the sweat," or fermenta- 
tion, judgment as to the quality for wrappers of the 
leaves from each plot Avas finally passed by practical 
experts, the best crop each year being marked 1, the 
second best 2, and so on, and this data is given in the 
kist three columns of the following table. For conven- 







Table VIII.— QUALITY OF THE VARIOUS CROPS. 




Plot 


Yield of 


* in-app's pr Lb 


Fire 


Holding 


Value as 


Wrappers 


Wrappers 


Lon;/ Short 


Cured 


Fer. 


1892 


'93 t'94 


A 


950 




68 91 


205 


333 


10 


23 5 


B 


It-t-l 




69 90 


223 


305 


12 


1 6 


C 


KKG 




63 86 


221 


275 


2 


5 11 


D 


l'i2f. 




61 89 


202 


248 


3 


8 16 


E 


1O40 




61 84 


167 


236 


16 


29 28 


F 


IIIOT 




07 91 


237 


415 


8 


3 4 


G 


Km 




62 82 


208 


245 


4 


22 15 


H 


1295 




63 86 


205 . 


262 


5 


9 14 


I 


12-46 




64 83 


202 


240 


19 


21 20 


i 


i;s78 




05 80 


233 


266 


22 


6 19 


1141 




61 89 


159 


215 


6 


15 17 


L 


1010 




65 86 


153 


233 


9 


25 7 


M 


905 




69 84 


147 


209 


23 


28 26 


N 


993 




65 85 


163 


188 


7 


19 25 





919 




70 94 


195 


244 


1 


24 13 


P 


781 




75 100 


271 


425 


14 


14 2 



Av., 1058 60 87 199 275 — — — 

*Pole cured ; leaves are lighter after going through the sweat. 

The 1894 crop averaged per pound of pole-cured short wrappers 88 

leaves, fermented 97 ; long wrappers 64 pole cured, 71 fermented. tThe 

'95 crop is yet iu sweat. 



SPECIAL FERTILIZERS. 397 

ience of comparison, the average yield per acre of wrap- 
per leaf is included from Table VII, which gives the 
methods of fertilization on each plot, total yield of all 
grades of leaf on each plot, etc. 

Somewhat similar cxi)eriments have been made by 
the Pennsylvania experiment station, but were inter- 
rupted for lack of funds. The whole subject of feeding 
the tobacco plant is fully discussed in Chapter VI, but 
some further points applying specially to cigar leaf 
should be mentioned liere. Especially would we reiter- 
ate that the proper use of appropriate commercial ferti- 
lizers or agricultural chemicals is not injurious to either 
quality or quantity of the yield. On the contrary, such 
use improves the quality and increases the yield. But 
" the proper use of appropriate fertilizers " covers many 
things that can only be learned by long experience, and 
cannot be taught in books. This matter has been closely 
studied by practical farmers and by fertilizer experts 
and manufacturers, especially during the past few years. 
In addition to the popular fertilizers previously used 
with general satisfaction by careful growers, this work 
has resulted in bringing out some new "tobacco ash" 
mixtures, for which much is expected. 

The first of these new mixtures to be announced 
was Mapes "tobacco ash constituents," designed to be 
used in connection with cottonseed meal or any material 
supplying ammonia. The raw materials generally used 
by the most successful tobacco growers in connection 
with cottonseed meal, and also employed at Poquonock, 
are double sulphate of potash (containing sulphate of 
potash and sulphate of magnesia), high grade sulphate 
of potash, cottonhuU ashes, wood ashes and bone meal. 
Both wood and cottonhuU ash vary in quality, and are 
at times the most expensive forms of potash. These 
materials also may contain much more magnesia than 
the crop requires. Jenkins declares that an excess of 



398 TOBACCO LEAF. 

magnesia in the plant is known to be injurious unless 
lime is also abundant. An average yield of tobacco 
takes some 30 pounds of magnesia from an acre, and 
this occurs mostly in the leaf. Yet 1500 pounds of cot- 
tonhull ashes, the amount usually used per acre, supplies 
about 165 pounds of magnesia, and less than one-half as 
much lime. The double sulphate of potash, in equiva- 
lent quantities, carries about 190 pounds of magnesia. 
''If too much magnesia is present in the leaf, it may 
show in the form of the so-called 'light mold' on the 
leaf when it comes out of the case, greatly damaging its 
salability, though not materially damaging its qualities 
for wrappers. This is not a true mold, but is a malate 
of magnesia — an effloresced crystalline matter which has 
come out of the leaf tissue." Whether this is caused by 
too much magnesia in the soil or fertilizers is not defi- 
nitely determined, though such is the belief of some who 
have given up the use of cottonhull ashes in consequence. 
The high grade sulphate of potash, on the other hand, 
contains little or no magnesia. 

As a substitute for the foregoing articles, this "to- 
bacco ash constituents" has been prepared, 1000 pounds 
of it suj^plying 150 pounds actual potash, phosphoric 
acid 57 pounds, lime over 200 jwunds, ammonia 6 
pounds, magnesia 20 to 30 pounds. The lime is in the 
form of a finely powdered carbonate of lime, which is 
preferred for the reasons fully set forth in Chapter VI. 
This "tobacco ash constituents" is thus intended to be 
free from all objectionable characteristics of tlie sub- 
stances usually used, and 1000 pounds of it, applied 
with 2000 pounds cottonseed meal, will be found to 
supply in liberal excess all the plant food required for an 
acre of cigar-leaf tobacco, and in thoroughly tested 
forms. Such a mixture will furnish of ammonia 156 
pounds, phosphoric acid 77 pounds, and potash 170 
pounds ; while a crop of 2700 pounds of cured leaf and 



SPECIAL FERTILIZERS. 399 

dried stalks per aci-e will contain 118, 16 and 138 
pounds, respectively, of these elements. 

Another attempt in the same direction is Bowker's 
"tobacco ash elements without ammonia," 1000 pounds 
of which are guaranteed to contain of soluble actual 
potash IGO pounds, phosphoric acid 60 pounds, lime 300 
pounds, magnesia 30 pounds. This mixture is guaran- 
teed "to be composed principally of wood ashes and 
bone ash, containing potash in the form of carbonate, 
and the phosphoric acid largely in available form, 
besides carbonate of lime and magnesia in the same 
form as in cottonhuU ashes, and with a sufficient excess 
of lime to meet not only the wants of the tobacco crop, 
but also to counteract any acid condition of the soil, and 
to improve its texture and mechanical condition. " 

It will be seen that both these mixtures are free 
from the substances which have proven objectionable to 
the tobacco crop at the Poquonock experiment station — 
acids, chlorine, excessive magnesia, and deficiency of 
lime. It is recommended to plow in such mixtures two 
weeks before setting plants. If the fertilizer is only 
harrowed in, no harm need be feared if the quantity is 
moderate and seasonable showers fall ; but if you get 
caught with a dry spell after setting, more or less dam- 
age follows. "But," says Jenkins, "be the season wet 
or dry, the crop will be likely to get the full benefit of 
fertilizer which has been plowed under, for the roots 
will find it." Indeed, tobacco has a widespreadiiig root 
system, in addition to its taproot, and this is sufficient 
reason for broadcast applications of manures or fertili- 
zers plowed under or thoroughly harrowed in. 

A substitute for cottonhull ashes, or other forms of 
tobacco ash ingredients, also a substitute for cottonseed 
meal, or castor pomace, is put out by Mr. Bowker as 
modification of his "ash elements." It has ammonia, 
in addition to the ash elements, serving as a general fer- 



400 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




n £ 






K c^. 



SPECIAL FERTILIZEKS. 401 

tilizer and starter. It is recommended to use 1000 
pounds of this mixture with 1500 pounds of cottonseed 
meal per acre, the meal and half of the fertilizer being 
plowed under, and the rest of the fertilizer applied as a 
starter, and harrowed into the soil just before the plants 
are set out. The Mapes tobacco starter, for tobacco 
beds and for plants at setting out, has also been much 
used, and is serviceable in giving plants a prompt start. 
Such a start is important, as only the earlier grown and 
fully matured tobacco cures light and glossy under usual 
conditions. 

More evidence that leaf of the best quality can be 
raised on commercial fertilizers, is shown by the fact 
that the largest prices in recent years have been for Con- 
necticut leaf manured in this way. Special attention is 
directed to the magnificent Andross crop of broadleaf 
grown in the celebrated East Hartford section, an en- 
graving of which (from a photograph taken for this 
work), appears on Page 400, while the typical plant of 
Connecticut broadleaf shown in Plates I and II, Pages 
19 and 23, was from this crop. The fertilizer used was 
4000 pounds of tobacco stems per acre, with 1500 pounds 
of Baker's castor pomace and 800 pounds of H. J. Baker & 
Bros.' A. A. brand of tobacco fertilizer. Another field 
was treated the same way the previous year, but upon it, 
in 189G, manure was substituted for the stems, with 
2000 pounds of pomace, which was the treatment given 
the fields illustrated in 1895. Mr. Andross adds : " We 
generally alternate between stems and pomace,, and ma- 
nure and pomace or cottonseed meal. Sometimes we 
use manure two years and stems one year. It is safe to 
say that we get the cleanest, healthiest and heaviest 
crop the year when the stems are used. In my east 
field, not shown in the photograph, I used manure and 
pomace, but it is not as heavy as the field where the fer- 
tilizer is used." 
26 



402 TOBACCO LEA.F. 

The crop of one of the most celebrated growers in 
the Connecticut valley, Mr. W. W. Sanderson, is illus- 
trated on Page 378. This field has been in tobacco for 
more than ten successive years, yielding an average of 
over one ton per acre in cured leaf annually. It has 
had a light coat of stable manure annually and lime 
every third year, and in the alternate season, 1500 to 
2000 pounds per acre of Stockbridge special tobacco ma- 
nure. In 1895, the Stockbridge was reduced to 1200 
pounds per acre, and 1200 pounds cottonseed meal was 
also used. In 189G, the same doses were repeated. The 
1895 crop on the nine acres weighed 19,795 pounds net 
when assorted and cased, 65 per cent being the light 
wrappers, 15 per cent dark wrappers, and the balance 
seconds and fillers. The '96 crop was over 50 per cent 
light wrappers of the finest quality, and 20 per cent 
dark wrappers, the leaf being very thin and fine. Mr. 
Sanderson finds that the addition of some cottonseed 
meal produces a more oily and glossy leaf, but too large 
quantities of this meal on medium to dark soils will give 
a dark colored leaf. 

Another remarkable instance of results obtained 
with tobacco grown on commercial fertilizers, is offered 
by the experience of Mr. 0. B. Lowell, of Tioga county. 
Pa., whose crop is illustrated on Page 416. He raises 
about 30 acres of tobacco annually, using 1000 pounds 
per acre of Mapes Wrapper Brand, with 500 pounds per 
acre of Mapes "tobacco starter," 20 loads of stable ma- 
nure having been previously plowed under. The colors 
are remarkably light, the yield large, the texture fine 
and all that could be desired. A similar estimate comes 
from Joseph K. Schultz, of Washingtonboro, Lan- 
caster county, Pa., whose 1896 crop of 40 acres, tlie 
eighteenth in succession on the same laud, is the finest 
he ever raised, and it is the eigiith year tluit the land 
has been manured in this way : Horse manure is plowed 



SPECIAL FERTILIZERS. 403 

under, and from 1500 to 2000 pounds of Mapes Wrapper 
Brand harrowed in, with 400 to 600 pounds per acre of 
Mapes *' starter." 

These and other crops raised on the Mapes manures 
have yielded 1800 to 2000 pounds of assorted leaf per 
acre, and Mapes tobacco in the Connecticut valley, of 
the famous '92 crop, sold at 30 to 33 cents per pound, 
— the highest prices recorded in recent years. Crops 
grown on the other fertilizers mentioned have also for 
many years commanded the top of the market, demon- 
strating beyond a peradventure the correctness of our 
view, that the proper use of fertilizers is anything but 
detrimental to quantity or quality. 




CHAPTEE XIX. 

CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF TOBACCO. 

Soils. — Throughout all the New England tobacco 
section, a warm, deep, sandy loam, having a permeable 
subsoil, is preferred for the crop. Occasionally, tobacco 
is grown upon the bottom lands, especially when Avell 
drained. The soil of these lands is dark with vegetable 
matter, but rendered easy of tillage in most cases by the 
large percentage of sand which it naturally contains. 
The popular impression is, that tobacco from the bottom 
lands is dark colored, and as only light wrappers are 
now in demand, and this can be expected when grown 
on the higher land, the bottom lands are not much used 
for tobacco. However, the most essential point looked 
for is that the soil is free from standing water, and sus- 
ceptible of early and late cultivation. Providing this 
condition exists, the bottom lands can be used ; but this 
condition is exceptional. The alluvial soil of the Con- 
necticut bottoms differs from that of most bottom lands 
in the country, in possessing a considerable proportion 
of sand, which renders it warm and easy of cultivation, 
and is much less troubled with water than is usually found 
on similar lands in other valleys. Tobacco, therefore, 
can be raised on some lands in the Connecticut valley, 
when it would fail if placed on the bottom lands of other 
rivers. 

Freedom from standing water, — a naturally Avell- 
drained soil, — is the first great essential to successful to- 
bacco growing. The crop will not grow in a soil pos- 
sessing an impervious subsoil that prevents drainage, 

404 



CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 405 

for such soils are cold from the water of saturation. 
For tlie same reason, clay soils cannot be advantageously 
used. They are cold and wet, and, moreover, are with 
difficulty brought into and kept in the exceedingly fine 
state of tillage that is necessary for the success of tobacco. 
These lands are often admirably adapted to grass, pota- 
toes, and other crops, but are disappointing for tobacco. 
It is far better economy to bring a poor piece of land of 
a sandy nature, warm and friable, into a proper state of 
fertility, by applying manures and fertilizers, than to 
endeavor to grow the crop on stronger but wet soil. 
Crops have been grown successfully on almost pure sand, 
but such instances are rare ; soil that is too sandy will 
not hold water enough to support the plant or to dis- 
tribute the fertilizers incorporated in it ; and an exces- 
sively dry soil is almost as objectionable as one that is 
too wet. Much land of a sandy nature can be wonder- 
fully improved in its capacity for retaining moisture, by 
a proper course of manuring, although the first cost of 
bringing such land into condition is very heavy. On a 
naturally warm, mellow, fertile soil, the expense of ma- 
nuring, in the first instance, is much less, and such a 
soil is the one preferred. 

Mr. Whitney has clearly shown that a dark, moist 
soil produces leaves dark in color, comparatively thick, 
and containing considerable oil and gum, but which, 
while sweating well, come out so dark that they are not 
suited for cigar wrappers, now that light color, thin- 
texture leaf is the fashion for this purpose. Upon light, 
sandy soil, the quality is very fine, the texture of the 
leaf is thin, and the color light, making the best cigar 
wrappers. The more clay and silt soils contain, the 
more retentive are they of moisture, and the heavier the 
type of leaf they produce. Thus, the leaves produced 
at Poquonock on a soil containing only seven per cent 
of water are lighter colored and of thinner texture than 



406 TOBACCO LEAF. 

those produced at East Hartford, where the soil contains 
double the amount of water, and very much better than 
the leaf grown at Hatfield on soil containing 28 per cent 
of water. But the difference in color and texture in 
these cases is not wholly due to the difference in mois- 
ture. The difference is partly due to the mechanical 
condition of the land. That at East Hartford contains 
much more fine silt and clay than is the case at Poquo- 
nock. 

Mr. Whitney's studies also show that, even if the 
soil does contain considerable clay and moisture, if it is 
well drained, either artificially or naturally, it may yet 
produce a very fine quality of tobacco. He believes that 
much land now comparatively moist can be adapted to 
the finer grades of cigar wrappers. "The first thing 
needed is to underdrain the land by tile drains, so as to 
remove, as much as possible, the excess of water. 
The tobacco should be giown on high beds, or ridges, 
which would keep the roots on higher soil, and improve 
the texture and quality of the crop. The texture of the 
soil should be changed, by judicious methods of cropping, 
manuring and culture, making it more loamy, and less 
retentive of moisture." 

Mr. AVhitney's investigations in Pennsylvania con- 
firm the foregoing statements. The soils which contain 
much silt and clay also contain much water, and pi oduce 
a heavy, dark leaf. These conditions should be realized 
by planters. When the fashion calls for light cigars, 
they should cultivate only lighter soils, and use their 
heavy land for other crops. When dark wrappers are 
in demand, the heavy soils shoidd be devoted to this 
crop. Our own experience and observation confirms 
Mr. Whitney's views. This is also true, in a general 
way, of the tobacco lands of New York, the Miami val- 
ley and Wisconsin. In all these localities an "old" soil 
which, by cropping, has been freed from its original 



CTJLTUEE OF CIGAR LEAF. 407 

growth and, perhaps, rank vegetable matter, is preferred 
for cigar leaf. 

Rotation of Crops. — The present practice among 
growers of the best quality of cigar leaf in the Connecti- 
cut and Housatonic valleys, is to select the land most 
suitable for the crop, and continue growing tobacco 
upon it year after year. There are several reasons for 
this practice, as stated by Frye, Sanderson, Andross 
and others. 

In the first place, tobacco is so sensitive to the influ- 
ence of fertilizers, or to an accumulation of vegetable 
matter in the soil, as to raise serious objections to any 
rotation. It is claimed by growers of highest experi- 
ence, that tobacco fields need long and careful prepara- 
tion to get into a condition that will yield a large crop 
with a perfect burn, thin leaf, bright and light colors. 
The manuring and treatment of the soils which may be 
best for other crops, may be objectionable for tobacco. 
The lower grades and cheaper forms of commercial fer- 
tilizers used for corn, grass, potatoes, etc., usually con- 
tain chlorine, salt and other substances that would have 
a bad effect on tobacco, directly following such a crop 
in a rotation. 

The form in which potash is used is especially im- 
portant. An oversupply of potash is not exhausted in 
one season, but apparently remains in the soil until 
taken out by successive crops. As the onion is a large 
potash feeder, and also responds to delicate feeding, it is 
probably the best crop to alternate with tobacco. Ash 
rich in potash is usually employed on onions, either in 
the form of carbonate of potash, or chemical fertilizers, 
supplying it in the form of high grade sulphate. The 
close culture of an onion field also assists in improving 
its mechanical and uniform condition, and in other ways 
assists in preparing the soil for tobacco. Potatoes are 
also good potash feeders, but it is not safe to use them 



4:08 TOBACCO LEAF. 

on tobacco land, unless we are positive that the fertilizer 
used furnishes the potash in the form of high grade sul- 
phate, as the muriate of potash, or lower grade potash, 
salts usually have a deleterious effect upon the quality 
of tobacco. A crop of turnips may be grown on tobacco 
fields the same season to advantage, provided the tops 
and small turnips are plowed under at the last moment 
possible before freezing up. Spinach or beet greens can 
be grown to advantage before tobacco plants are set in 
the spring, as working the soil for them assists in put- 
ting it in good mechanical condition, without drawing 
upon its elements of fertility to any appreciable extent. 

Tobacco grown continuously on the same land, 
richly manured year after year, is in danger of contain- 
ing too much potash or magnesia after a while. In such 
cases, and as a corrective of the soil, seeding to grass is 
the method now preferred. A liberal quantity of grass 
seed and clover seed is used, and the soil is so rich that 
a tremendous stand of grass is obtained, which is usually 
mowed twice the first year, but the second year, imme- 
diately after the first mowing, the sod is turned under 
with a shallow plow, the field being again more deeply 
plowed just before the ground freezes. It is then kept 
in tobacco for several years, according to the quality of 
the crop. If the land is used for corn or potatoes, such 
crops should be followed by oats or rye before the field 
is used for tobacco. The oat or rye stubble is turned 
under shallow immediately after the grain is cut, and is 
again plowed deeply in the fall, the same as for grass. 
This leaves the land in better condition for the tobacco 
crop than if it were set immediately after corn or pota- 
toes. Grass can also follow the latter crops before to- 
bacco is planted. 

In central and southern New York, rotation of 
crops for tobacco is still ]iracticed to a large extent, but 
the best growers are rapidly coming to adopt the Connect- 



CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 409 

iciit practice on this point. Tobacco has been produced 
oil the same i)iece of land in Onondaga county, N. Y., for 
nearly forty successive years, yet the fields, of late years, 
have averaged nearly twice as much per acre as on newer 
lands, properly manured and cared for, while the quality 
is all that could be expected. Pennsylvania experience 
is much along the same line, and in Wisconsin tobacco 
is more and more grown upon old land. 

Prejmi'ation of the soil. — This begins "the year 
before." Fall plowing is essential to the best results. 
Tobacco needs almost as deep and thoroughly pulverized 
soil as does the sugar beet. Many of the best growers 
prefer to plow under a grass sod as soon as the hay crop 
is secured, plowing as shallow as possil)le, and have the 
sward well turned under. Another plowing to the full 
depth, just before the ground freezes up, will do much 
to prevent trouble from cutworms. Manure may be 
plowed under in fall or spring. Thorough spring plow- 
ing is to be insisted upon. Some growers practice run- 
ning a subsoil plow in the furrow after the fall plowing, 
especially on soils liable to drouth. Probably the better 
plan, with stablB manure, tobacco stalks, and similar 
bulky material, is to spread it broadcast in the fall or 
early winter, to be plowed under in the early spring. 
All forms of vegetable fertilizer, such as cottonseed meal, 
linseed meal, etc., are broadcasted and harrowed in about 
two weeks before the time of setting plants, but long 
before this the soil has been wheel-harrowed after the 
spring plowing, and cross-harrowed with a fine-tooth 
harrow. 

Varieties, and Other Points. — Manuring and ferti- 
lization have already been exhaustively treated in Chap- 
ters VI and XVIII, which should be carefully studied. 
The whole subject of varieties, seed and seedbeds, plants 
and transplanting, pests, etc., are covered in the chap- 
ters on those subjects. Formerly, Connecticut broad- 



410 TOBACCO LEAF. 

leaf, or some of its snb-varieiies, was generally grown 
tliroiighout the cigar-leaf sections of the North, but now 
its place has been quite generally taken by domesticated 
Cuban or Havana seed tobacco, several strains or sub- 
varieties of which are used in different localities. The 
way in which this variety has supplanted tlie old broad- 
leaf is a marked instance of the change that may come 
to even the oldest agricultural industry^ At present, 
the broadleaf is grown in perfection mainly in a limited 
section about East Hartford and Windsor in the Connec- 
ticut valley, where about 2000 acres are annually devoted 




FIG. 116. GOSLEE"S RIDOER AND MARKER. 

Made by the Belcher & Taylor Agricultural Tool Co., Chicopee Falls, Mass. 

to it. Where plants are set by hand, the Goslee ridger 
(Fig. IIG) is often used. Its wings gather the earth 
into a ridge, with the fertilizers that are spread broad- 
cast for starting the plant. The smoothing plate that 
the machine rides on smooths the ridges, and the wheel 
with the points pjirtly makes the holes for the plants, 
and spaces them off,) 

Doctor Daroczi, editor of the Hungarian Tobacco 
Gazette, of Budapest, has propagated tobacco from slips, 
and claims that the leaves harvested from such pi'opa- 
gated plants are finer and of higher quality than those 



CUliTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 411 

of the mother plant. We find, npon inquiry, however, 
that he has made only a few pot experiments. His 
claims have led to some discussion in Germany and 
Austro-Hungary, during which numerous instances have 
been reported of tobacco plants from three to seven years 
old. These plants were wintered in a greenhouse, the 
seven-year-old plant measuring six yards in hight and 
seven and one-half inches around tlie stem. Mr. Wal- 
lensick, of Buende, possesses a cane made of the stem of 
a five-year-old plant. In another case, new and vigorous 
plants started with independent roots from pieces of old 
root, this being really propagation by layering, the same 
as for grapevines. 

Every practical tobacco grower in America, how- 
ever, is familiar with the second growth of suckers that 
comes up from old stalks after a mild winter, or that 
grows after the harvest if the fall is favorable. Col. 
Killebrew has studied this point in Mexico, where to- 
bacco is perennial, but even to make good leaf in that 
country no reliance can be placed upon suckers coming 
from the principle stalk. Whether it will ever be feasi- 
ble to propagate by slips or layers, remains to be demon- 
strated. Until tliis is proven, we must sow the seed, 
raise the plants, and set them out witii all their original 
vitality, in order to make good tobacco of any variety. 
In Cuba and southern Florida, a second, and even a 
third, crop of fillers may be obtained from a single sucker 
left at tlie first and second cuttings of the crop. 

Opinions differ about distance to set tobacco. In 
New England, Havana seed is usually planted in rows 
three or three and one-fourth feet ai)art, and plants 13 
to 18 inches apart in the row. For Connecticut broad- 
leaf and all varieties of the larger domestic seedleaf, rows 
are usually three and one-half feet npart, with 18 inches 
between plants in the row. The object of having the 
plants closer in the row is to get a very thin leaf, but 



412 TOBACCO LEAF. 

when set only 12 or 15 inches apart, this thing is apt to 
be overdone, and the leaf is likely to be too thin and 
very liable to damage when curing, especially if unfa- 
vorable weather occurs. Broadleaf or seedleaf, being 
used mostly for binders, must be thin, and hence is set 
about 18 inches apart, but in former times, before the 
trade was so particular for thin leaf, these varieties were 
set 26 to 30 inches in the row. Now, if it is desired to 
get the most wrapper leaves in a crop, plants are set 1 8 
to 20 inches for Havana seed, and 22 to 24 inches apart 
in the row for broadleaf, as a general rule among planters 
who manure heavily and who are disappointed in much 
less than one ton of cured leaf per acre. Formerly the 
rows were four feet apart for Connecticut broadleaf, but 
three and one-half feet is now the almost universal rule 
throughout Pennsylvania, New York and Wisconsin, 
with the plants about the distance apart just mentioned. 
Cultivation. — Abundance of manure does not re- 
move the necessity of thorough cultivation. Crops 
often need such treatment very badly where there are no 
weeds at all. The soil should be kept jmlverized and 
loosened to as great a depth as possible without injury 
to the roots of the plant, particularly in the early stages 
of growth. The tobacco crop especially needs thorough 
cultivation, not so much with the hoe as with the culti- 
vator, or with other labor-saving machines, care being 
taken to use only those machines, as the crop advances, 
that do their work without injury to the fibrous roots, 
or, in other words, which cut deepest in the center of 
the row and work closer to the surface near the plant. 
When plants are set by machine, an attachment can be 
affixed that will act as a cultivator, thus killing any 
weeds that may be starting. It is well to go over the 
field in a few days with a hand hoe and gently loosen 
the earth around and between the plants. It is the 
glory of the thrifty planter, not to allow a weed to be 



CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 



413 



seen in his tobacco patch, and this is carried out to the 
greatest perfection in Lancaster county, Pennsylvania. 
As tobacco is grown solely for the leaf, great care should 
be taken in the later cultivation that no injury be done 
to the leaves. When land has been thoroughly culti- 
vated, the weeds are entirely eliminated in the early 
part of the season, and the plant so shades the ground, 
in its later stage of growth, tliat weeds cannot flourish. 
Within a week from the first, light hoeing, a culti- 
vator, set narrow, should be run between the rows and 
run deeply, for too much care cannot be taken to 




FKS. 117. PUOUT'8 HOEINCi MACHINE. 

For tobacco and other crops requiring close culture. It can be used with one or 
two horses. When the ground Is level and you wish to keev it so, run tha, 
hoes even, but If vou wish to ridge, the hoes can be fitted to the desired angle. 
It can be adjusted so as to hoe the most delicate jdants without injury, and to 
any width of row. It is made by the Belcher & Taylor Agricultural Tool Co., 
of Cliicopee Falls, Mass. 

keep the under soil mellow. A good stirring of the soil 
iit this time is desirable, pulverizing, admitting light 
and air and leaving it in a condition more favorable to 
the plant. It is well to go over the field a week later 
with the hand hoe, to destroy any weeds missed by the 
cultivator. If the right tools are used, horse labor can 
be employed very largely in cultivation, and this is com- 
ing to be the practice throughout the cigar-leaf regions, 
and with great benefit to the crop, as well as saving to 
the planter. A favorite implement with New England 



414 TOBACCO LEAF. 

and New York planters is Prout's hoeing machine, 
Fig. 117, which is peculiarly adapted to this crop. Of 
course, other cultivators and horse hoes are used, but 
this is considered one of the best. 

With seedleaf, it is a rule to draw the dirt towards 
the plant at the second hoeing, so ar. to hill it a very 
little. The cultivator may be run between the rows to 
advantage five or six times, but do not commit the error 
of using it too late, for it is quite certain tkit after the 
plant is half grown, the cultivator does more harm than 
good by disturbing the roots, and tlie roots of seedleaf 
reach out further from the plant than do the roots of 
Havana. When tobacco is ready to top, the roots are 
too much developed to permit cultivating. All the 
later culture that is needed — the cutting down of weeds 
in the row — can be better done with the hand hoe. 
Some growers, who believe in "feeding high," sow 100 
to 300 pounds per acre in the rows just before the 
second cultivation. 

Havana seed requires considerable more hilling than 
seedleaf, because it tips over more readily. The first 
hilling should be the same, but at the second cultivating 
hill up decidedly more than for seedleaf. When the 
ridger has been used in preparing the land, a hiiler, 
such as is attached to some cultivators, can be used 
advantageously, or one can be made readily as follows: 
Take a board, five inches wide and two feet long, 
sharpen to a point from a distance of one foot from the 
apex. Upon each side of the edge nail a piece of barrel 
stave, two and one-half feet long and five inches wide, 
making the upper edge even with the top of the wedge ; 
make a hole near the apex, and fasten to the middle 
piece of a common cultivator between the horse-hoe 
teeth, leaving the cutter turned out. At a third culti- 
vation, this same hiiler can again be used to advantage, 
but place a four-inch block upon the point of the hiiler. 



CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 415 

SO that it will take the dirt from the middle of the row, 
and build up the ridges still more. The hiller will not 
be found desirable where the ridger has not been used, 
as it will '• hill" too much. 

When the ground has been fitted by hand, use a 
common cultivator with the horse-hoe teeth turned out 
at tlie second hoeing ; the amount of hilling can be reg- 
ulated, of course, by the operator. At the third culti- 
vation you can narrow the cultivator, bear a trifle 
harder on the handles, run the hoe teeth a little deeper, 
and then hill still more. When Havana stands np, the 
leaves do not lop towards the ground as much as do 
those of the seedleaf plant ; consequently it can be cul- 
tivated later witliout danger of the liorse stepping on the 
leaves. The shorter roots of the Havana also admit of 
later cultivation by horse power than is practicable, or 
desirable, with saedleaf. 

Management of the Crop. — Where the stand is 
uneven, it always pays to reset with good plants and 
water them carefully. Sometimes plants are tipped 
over by heavy rains when the ground is soft. All such 
plants should be set up again and the earth firmed about 
them. Many prudent growers, while setting out their 
plants, provide an extra one here and there — sometimes 
as often as every other hill in every tenth or twelfth 
row — so as to have stock at hand to reset in place of 
plants that have died, or that are eaten by worms, or 
cut by careless hoeing. If a good body of earth is taken 
up with such plants, they can be set up in the vacant 
spaces even when fully a foot high. If the weather is 
favorable, these transplanted plants will quickly thrive ; 
if it is hot and dry, they wilt at first, but will usually 
straighten up nearly as well as those that have not been 
moved. This near-at-hand transplanting is miicli more 
desirable at this late day than any transfer from 
distant tobacco beds, as the roots are less disturbed and 






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CULTUEE OF CIGAE LEAF. 417 

the chances of success greater, and the plant has already 
had a better growth. In some cases, Havana is toppled 
over so that it does not show badly at first and will soon 
hold up its head, but neglect, even in such cases, resiilts 
in crooked stalks, which do not hang so well on the 
poles and by contact increase liability to pole sweat. 
Beside, such leaf will not strip as well, or sell as well, 
as if it had been promptly straightened up. Usually, 
this trouble occurs before or about the time of topping ; 
after the plant lias been topped, it stands up firmer. 
Should any plant have its center bud broken, or eaten 
off, early in the season, it will come up with several 
suckers, or sprouts, and will not amount to much ; such 
plants should be replaced, if not too late. 

Priming. — This consists in pulling off the bottom 
leaves, to the number of four or five. Any plant, large 
enougli to top, ought to be primed first, and a general 
rule is not to prime until the plant is ready to top 
also. Many good growers omit this process altogether, 
although by that plan they increase the class called 
"lugs," and lighten the weight of the better leaves. 

Topping. — As to when and how much to top (see 
Fig. 86, Page 294), there is a large difference of opinion 
and practice. Some begin as soon as a majority of the 
plants in a field have budded, and thus go over the 
ground a second time. Others make it a rule to wait 
until a majority of the plants have blossomed, with the 
idea of finishing the job at one time as far as possible. 
A feeble plant will do better if topped low, so that it 
will liave comparatively few leaves mature. But whether 
cigar -leaf plants in general should be topped high, or 
low, is a disputed point. Those who advocate low top- 
•ping claim they get lower leaves thereby ; on the other 
hand, the high toppers say the leaves thus obtained, 
although large, are coarse ; immense in quantity, but 
not superior in quality. With high topping, it is 
%1 



418 TOBACCO LEAF. 

claimed the grower secures not only more wrappers, but 
more total weight. Every grower must decide, from the 
condition of the growing crop, how high or low to top. 

Suchering. — The natural inclination of the plant to 
propagate itself through the formation of the seed, is 
intercepted by topping, but the plant at once attempts 
to repair the damage. In a few days, say five or seven, 
suckers, or shoots, begin to appear at the junction of the 
leaf with the parent stem. When three or four inches 
long, they must be pinched off. As in topping, this 
must be done with thumb and fingers, to prevent the 
too copious exudation of the sap. Cigar-leaf tobacco 
usually requires suckering but twice ; at first, about half 
way down, and the second time clean from top to bot- 
tom. ^ Unless removed when young and tender, they 
grow hard and fibrous and must be removed with a 
knife, which results in severe bleeding. In suckering, 
as in topping, the utmost care must be taken not to 
break or injure the leaves. If the leaves are found 
turned up by the wind, or any other cause, they should 
be put into their natural position, for the sun has a bad 
effect upon the underside, often scorching, or blister- 
ing it. Many otherwise careful growers neglect to 
properly "sucker," especially in Pennsylvania and Wis- 
consin, to the serious detriment of the crop. 

Ripening. — In the course of two or three weeks 
after topping, the plants will begin to ripen, which may 
be known by the change in the color of the leaf. It will 
look spotted with spots of a lighter, yellowish green. 
When fully ripe, the leaf may be folded and consider- 
ably pressed without breaking. This is the time to har- 
vest. It is well to let the crop stand, if not fully ripe, 
as long as it can safely be done, for the cool nights have 
a tendency to thicken the leaf, or give it more "body," 
without interfering with its ((uality in other respec^ 
Many, however, prefer to cut as soon as ripe, and get it 



CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 419 

safely housed and out of danger from frost and hail. 
It certainly is a great temptation to cut before it has 
been touched by hail, frost, rust, or any other disease. 
It is true that tobacco affected by any of these things is 
nearly worthless, but the same is also true of plants cut 
too early. Such "tobacco is almost sure to pole sweat 
and then it is gone, anyway, and even if the leaf does 
escape, it is thin and lacking in weight and is also liable 
to white veins. A rule which was in force years ago, to 
cut only such plants as were thoroughly ripe, hunting 
them out for the purpose and leaving the unripe ones 
to stand some days longer, is still a good one. This 
is especially applicable to all plants grown in wet 
spots, for these do not mature as early as those in dry 
places. 

Some experienced growers maintain that there is a 
certain date when tobacco is ripe, and that if allowed to 
stand after this date it deteriorates in color and quality. 
Wben tobacco, for lack of fertilizers, or for any other 
reason, turns yellow, or fades, and the plant neither 
ripens nor grows, the longer it stands the more it deteri- 
orates in value and quality and shrinks in quantity, and 
the sooner such fields are cut the better. No precise 
rule can be given as to when tobacco is ripe. Some say 
that seedleaf will ripen in from ten days to three weeks 
after topping, and Havana in about three weeks, but, 
generally, Havana should stand quite four weeks, though 
it will, of course, dejiend on the weather and plants ; if 
it is wet, tobacco won't ripen as quickly as when dry. 
Some fertilizers will keep the plant fresh, green and 
growing longer than others. Tobacco cut before fully 
ripe may look nice before going through the sweat, but 
when it comes out, it is tender and will make but few 
wrappers, to say nothing of the greater liability to pole 
sweat. The green cut leaf may cure off darker, but it 
is not so well filled out, is not so smooth and fine, and 



420 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 421 

will not bring as Tiigli jirice as the ripe leaf when 
properly cured. 

Harvestitig. — Cutting tobacco in the Northern cigar- 
leaf States usually begins about the middle of August, 
and continues, as the plant arrives at maturity, through 
the month of September, but it may begin and end con- 
siderably earlier or later, according to the season. The 
plants, when grown upon warm, sandy soils, mature 
from one to two weeks earlier than when upon dark 
soils. Cut from the time the dew is nearly off the 
ground until three o'clock, when all plants must be cut 
down at once which are to be hauled that day. Do not 
leave any out over night if possible. On the other hand^, 
take care that too much is not cut when the sun is so 
hot as to sunburn the leaves. Such leaves will not 
cure, but are always green. Don't cut when there is 
danger of frost, because it will have a serious effect on 
wilted tobacco, whereas it might not injure the growing 
leaf at all. Tiie plants should be put into the shed as 
soon after cutting as can be done without breaking the 
leaves. It must be wilted somewhat to be handled com- 
fortably. If wilted too much, the leaves will stick 
together and then will never cure well. After one side 
is wilted, the cut plant should be turned over so that 
the other side may wilt. Some prefer a cloudy day for 
cutting, as the plants are less liable to sunburn. 

In cutting, the stalk is grasped with the left hand, 
bent over to the left until the bottom of the stalk is 
exposed, and is then cut off close to the ground with 
one blow of a hatchet, or cleaver. Some, however, pre- 
fer to saw it off with a handsaw. In Pennsylvania and 
Wisconsin, a kind of shears is now commonly used, the 
long handles of Avhich give a leverage that easily cuts off 
the stoutest plant. Let the stalk drop over on the 
ground, without doubling the leaves under ; lay the 
plants at right angles to the row with the butts all one 



422 TOBACCO LEAF. 

way ; those from the next row should be laid with the 
butts towards those of the first row, and so proceed 
until all is cut that can be attended to. Some think a 
better way is to lay them down lengthwise with the row 
itself, lapping them partly over each other, as the plant 
does not have to be moved out of the row and there is 
not so much danger of injuring the leaves. 

The practice of scaffolding in the field, once almost 
universal, has been largely discontinued throughout the 
cigar-leaf States. A majority of farmers now carry the 
plants directly to the barn without any previous wilting, 
save what is possible while lying on the ground awhile. 
On scaffolds, heavy rains will wash off more or less of 
the gum. Even those who follow the practice seldom 
leave the stalks on the scaffold longer than three days. 

The simplest convenience for transporting to the 
barn is the best, as illustrated and described in Part II. 
If the plants are to be strung on poles in the barn,'i;he 
old way, substitute for the wagon body a long, flat rack, 
upon which load the plants from each side, butts out, 
letting the tips overlap each other alternately in the 
center. Load regularly and evenly, care being taken 
not to break or damage the leaves in handling. Four 
or five hundred plants may be carried at a log;d. If the 
day is very hot, drive to the shed rapidly, or the load 
may heat, especially if the distance is long. All large 
sheds should be provided with wagon doors so that a 
team can drive directly in. If the weather is hot, the 
jjlants should be laid on the ground floor, only 
one plant deep. If the day is cool and they are to be 
hung up soon, they may lie much thicker. The doors 
are left open until the tobacco is- thoroughly wilted and 
the leaves lie straight, when it is strung and hung. 

The wagon rack, in Fig. 119, is very simple. An 
independent rack in forward holds up two upright 
posts, which are framed on top to two 4x6 timbers, 28 



CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 



423 




424 TOBACCO LEAF. 

to 32 feet long. Crosspieces, 3J feet apart, and strongly 
braced, extend well over the sides. Upon those the lath 
full of plants is placed, the rack being Just high enough 
to allow this to be done without stretching, and still 
have the plants clear the ground. Low, wide wheels 
are better than common wagon wheels, hence the pop- 
ularity of the wagon shown in Fig. 91. 

Hanging Cigar Leaf. — There are two ways of hang- 
ing, with twine and with lath, and each has its 
advocates. The latter way is the cheaper and requires 
the least help, but many still think hanging by twine is, 
on the whole, the fastest and best way. But if the barn 
is very high, it is cheaper to hang the upper tiers with 
lath, because it would need so much help to hang with 
twine. The difference in different years, and with dif- 
ferent crops, accounts largely for the difference in 
opinion in regard to the methods of hanging. Don't 
hang it too thick, 30 to 34 Havana plants on a 12-foot 
pole is about right for twine. Be careful not to have 
the poles too close together. Ten poles in 15 feet is 
close enough, and there will be less danger of pole sweat 
than if thicker. Don't hang tobacco while wet, because 
it will pole sweat more readily, and besides, more dirt 
sticks to it. A wet leaf won't cure off quite so nice, 
smooth and pliable as when hung dry. 

The new way, which is in use in the Connecticut 
valley, is to hang on laths, about twice the thickness of 
ordinary laths such as are used for plastering. Tiie 
laths are four feet long, to carry four to six plants, as to 
their size. Some put a spear head on end of lath, run 
it through butt of plant, about six inches from the end, 
and then slide plant onto lath. For this purpose, the 
lath is held in a hurdle, as shown in Fig. 120. A better 
plan — because quicker, and requiring less handling and 
less injury, or danger, to plants — is to attach hooks to 
the lath, on which to hang the plants. For this pur- 



CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 425 

pose use lath five-eighths inch thick, one and. five-eighths 
inch wide and four feet long. On one side put in a 
hook six inches from the end, and two more fourteen 
inches apart ; do the same on the other side, alternating, 
and the lath contains six hooks about seven inches 
apart, to hang as many plants. Make some with only 
four hooks for the biggest plants. The hooks may be 
like a. Fig. 106, or simply drive wire nails at an angle 
through the lath. The hooked lath is held in a stand- 
ard (shown at left in Fig. 119), while the plants are 
being hung on it. If the plants are well wilted when 
thus hung, they are at once carted to the barn on a 
rack, or rigging, like that in Figs. 118 or 120. But on 
a cool or cloudy day, the lath, when filled with plants, 
is hung on a rack in the field, until wilted, as shown 
at the right in Fig. 119. By the latter plan, harvesting 
can proceed in bad weather. These strung laths can be 
quickly hung in the barn, on poles about four feet apart. 
Fill upper tiers first, lifting to them by using a pitchfork 
at middle of lath. Leave space enough between laths in 
barn for air to circulate freely ; the larger the plants, 
the more space. 

Curing. — See Chapter X for full particulars. 

Stripping. — When the leaves and stems are com- 
pletely cured, so that no green is visible in the leaf and 
the leaf stems are dried out, the tobacco is ready to 
strip. The sooner this work is done, the better. If the 
colors are uneven, they will become as near uniform in 
the pile after it is stripped as by hanging, if taken down 
in i)roper condition and kept so. When tobacco is 
cured, it can be brought into condition for stripping in 
any damp weather. Watch a favorable time, when it 
rains, or is very damp, to open the building and let in 
the damp air, until the tobacco is sufficiently moistened 
to l)e handled without danger of breaking the leaves. 
A leaf of good body and strong fiber can be taken down 



426 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




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CULTURE OF CIGAR LE^F. 427 

damper than thin, or papery, leaf. Early in the season, 
it should not be taken down as damp as is required later 
on. A good rule to determine when it is in proper con- 
dition to take down, is to clasp the leaves near the tip 
of the plant and squeeze tightly ; when the pressure is 
removed and they expand in a few seconds and are 
stained but very little, the crop is just right to take 
down. It should be watched while dampening, to guard 
against rain driving in at the doors. If the outside 
plants get wet, or too damp, hang them up until dried 
sufficiently. 

Make a floor of sawed poles, planks, or boards, laid 
on the ground, edge to edge, and pile the plants, a small 
armful at a time, about two feet high. The pile should 
be made with the butts out and the tips in and over- 
lapping about one-third the length. This should be 
done evenly, in layers, so that no leaves may hang out 
and get dry, and thus be wasted. If the stalks are 
frozen, do not take down until the dripping stops, as 
the juice will stain the leaf. The sooner it is stripped 
after taking down, the better, as the leaves are liable to 
stick to the stalk and get stained and be torn when 
stripped. If warm weather prevails, the plants will 
soon heat after taking down, and they should be exam- 
ined frequently. On the first indication of heating, 
carefully lay the pile over, making it about half as high 
as before and let it lie as loose as possible. Removing 
the plants from the lath is quite a task. 

A common way to take plants from the latlis is for 
one man to slip the plants to near one end of the lath 
and hold them, butts up, while another pulls out the 
lath. One man can strip lath alone by slipping the 
plants to one end and placing one foot on them to pull 
against. Some strip tlie upper tier of lath by placing 
two poles two inches apart on the first tier, shoving the 
lath through from above, while a man below pulls it out. 



428 TOBACCO LEAF. 

The method of pulling tobacco from lath between two 
short, upright sticks has been long in occasional use. 
In case of large, green stalks that slip hard, it saves 
labor. 

To strip a plant, hold it in the left hand by the 
butt, and with the other pull ofE all the bottom leaves 
and drop them in a pile for " fillers ;" next take off 
three or four more, or until the best leaves are reached, 
and put these in another heap f or " seconds ; " then 
strip off the remainder for wrappers, except such as are 
badly worm-eaten, or otherwise injured, which are, of 
course, of a poorer quality. Throw the stalk away and 
proceed with another. When a sufficient number of 
leaves of one grade are obtained to make a bundle, they 
are arranged with all the butts even at one end, and 
then bound firmly together by winding a leaf around 
them at the butt, commencing within a half or three- 
quarters of an inch from the end and winding down 
smoothly about two inches, and secure the end of the 
binder by slipping it through the leaves and pulling it 
tightly against the twist. Much of the value of tobacco 
depends upon the manner in which it is assorted and 
done up, as a few poor leaves in a parcel would make a 
difference of several cents per pound in the price. 
None but good, sound leaves, free from rust, pole sweat, 
frost, or large holes, should go into the best quality. 
The bundles should be made of leaves of an even length, 
uniform in color and quality, weighing about half a 
pound. Many careful growers make a practice of wrap- 
ping the bundles in manilla paj^er, 36x40 inches square. 
The bundles are usually 36 inches long and the 40 
inches goes around the bundle. There should be three 
strong strings around each bundle. This paper keeps 
the tobacco clean and from getting dry. In this, as in 
everything else, neat packages pay well. The same 
method is pursued for seconds and fillers. Sometimes 



CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 



435 




FIG. 122. PKESSINO (JUJAK LEAF INTO THE CASE. 



430 TOBACCO LEAF. 

leaves are found with green, or ''fat," stems; these 
should not be mcluded in the bundle, but laid one side 
to dry out, for the excessive moisture would cause the 
stem to rot and thereby injure the whole bundle. 
Leaves having very light veins should also be excluded, 
for these veins will turn white when the leaf passes 
through the sweat, which greatly detracts from the value 
of the leaf. 

After being bundled, the ''hands," as the bundles 
are called, are laid together in a pile, not on the floor, 
but raised from the ground a few inches by making a 
rough j)latform of poles and boards. Commence by lay- 
ing a row on one side of the platform with the butts 
out, then on the other side in the same way, letting the 
tips lap over slightly, just enough to keep the pile level. 
Proceed in this way, laying on each side alternately, 
until all is packed. Lay some boards on toj) of the pile, 
and put on just weight enough to keep them snug. 
Some covering should be put at the end of the pile to 
keep it from drying out. The seconds and fillers are 
each packed in a pile separate from the others. If it 
remains long in the pile, it should be inspected occasion- 
ally to see that it does not heat. If it has been packed 
when too damp, it is quite apt to heat, especially if the 
pile is large. When this is apparent, the pile should be 
made over and the damp bundles shaken out to dry. 

Assorting. — Most dealers prefer to have tobacco 
delivered in the bundle, for they have their individual 
methods of assorting and prefer to do it themselves so 
their goods may all run alike ; when assorted by many 
different farmers, there is much liability of variation. 
Farmers wlio have a good reputation for assorting, how- 
ever, not only assort their own crops, but are often 
employed by packers to assort other crops in the section. 
Assorting can be done during the stripping process, but 
it is almost always done later and special work made of 



CULTURE OF CIGAR LEAF. 431 

it. The tobacco is packed in bundles, or small bales, 
and carried to the local assorting place, where it is 
unpacked and assorted into grades, according to the 
color, texture, length and condition of the leaf. When, 
tobacco is packed, it is very important that it should be 
at the proper degree of pliability. If too dry, great 
damage is done to the leaf by breakage, and the best 
wrappers may be ruined when handled dry. On the 
other hand, if there is too much moisture in the leaf, a 
fermentation will be produced, so excessive as to destroy 
the vitality of the tobacco and produce a mold that- 
imparts a disagreeable odor. Good judgment is required 
at this stage. If bulked in cold weather, the amount 
of water is often greatly underestimated and if warm 
weather comes on, danger ensues. There is no danger, 
whatever, if the stems are thoroughly dried out when' 
the tobacco is taken down from the poles. 

Casing or Boxiyig. — When cased, the boxes for 
wrappers are 30 inches long and 28 inches square at the 
head, and 36 or 38 inches long by 28 inches for seconds 
and fillers. The tobacco must be packed in these boxes, 
so that the ends of the hands stand from one to two 
inches from the side of the box. The quantity in each 
box runs about 300 to 350 pounds for wrappers, 325 
pounds for seconds and 300 pounds for fillers. It 
usually requires quite a good deal of pressure. Fig. 122, 
to get the box full. It is best to leave the casing to the 
middlemen, unless the business is well understood. 

Sweating. — The later fermentation, or "sweating," 
process is generally done by the dealers. It usually 
comes after assorting and casing. The tobacco is 
packed, or cased, and allowed to remain ; as the weather 
grows warmer, the sweating begins and continues for 
many weeks. In this time the tobacco becomes warm, 
reaching 100° F., and sometimes more. During the 
sweat, the boxes are piled one on another on their sides, 



432 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



but never exposed to tlie rays of the sun, A sealed 
room is usually preferred for the purpose, and the heat 
generated is at times so great as to be quite uncomfort- 
able. The sweating process is to tobacco what fermenta- 
tion is to A\nne ; it ripens and prepares it for use, perfect- 
ing its color and improving its flavor. The acrid, or 
pungent, taste is subdued, while the burning qualities 
»re increased and it also gives a shiny, oily surface, 
which is called "satin face." All tobacco does not go 
through this process equally well. Some of it comes out 
dead and lifeless m appearance and lacking in texture 
and elasticity. The loss in weight is also quite consid- 
erable, often amounting to 10 or 15 per cent. 




CHAPTER XX. 

CIGAE-LEAF TOBACCO AT THE WEST AXD SOUTH. 

During the last few years of agricultural depression, 
many special crops, heretofore confined to limited 
regions, have been experimented with in other sections. 
Where these experiments have proven successful, such 
crojis have been largely grown. Xot many years ago, 
the broom corn supplies of the United States came 
largely from the Connecticut valley, then the crop 
emigrated to the Mohawk valley, but now it is mainly 
grown in Illinois, Kansas and Xebraska. Hops were 
formerly largely grown in Xew England, but were 
superseded by hops produced in Central Xew York, yet 
the remarkable success of hop culture on the Pacific 
coast has caused such overproduction and low prices 
that it is a question whether the Xew York State hop 
industry will be able to maintain itself. 

Whether a like state of affairs is destined to come 
about in the cigar-leaf tobacco industry remains to be 
seen. It is true that for many years this industry has 
been confined to limited areas in Xew England, Central 
Xew York and Eastern Pennsylvania, but it has long 
been a feature of Southern Ohio agriculture and, more 
recently, in Wisconsin. During the past six years, cigar- 
leaf tobacco has l^een experimented with in many other 
sections of the United States, and in some of these cases 
with such attractive results as to indicate that the 
industry is destined to have a large development in 
those regions. Promising results have been obtained in 
certain parts of Xebraska, especially at Schuyler, in 
?s 433 



434 



TOBACCO LEAF. 










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CIGAR LEAF AT THE WEST AND SOUTH. 435 

several localities of Colorado, and to a more limited 
extent in Washington, Oregon and California, In the 
latter State, cigar-leaf tobacco culture is now receiving 
tlie close attention of practical and scientific men, and 
should their work prove successful in obtaining leaf of 
good quality, its culture will doubtless be developed on 
the large scale characteristic of California enterprise. 

In Texas, quite a number of crops of fine tobacco 
have been raised during the past three or four years, 
more especially in the southeastern part of the State, 
particularly in Montgomery, Victoria and Calhoun coun- 
ties, the latter adjoining the coast between Aransas Bay 
and Matagorda Bay, Victoria adjoining it to the west. 
It is stated that one farmer, in Montgomery county, 
sold 8,000 i^ounds of cigar leaf grown, in 1894, on nine 
acres of ''gray hickory" land, and that he got 40 cents 
per pound for the better grades for cigar wrappers, and a 
satisfactory price for the lower grades for fillers. To- 
bacco grown in Calhoun county has sold as high as 50 
cents per pound. It is cjadmed for selections of the leaf 
grown in that section, that it is equal to the best 
tobacco grown on the Island of Cuba, for either fillers 
or wrappers. Well-informed Texas growers express a 
confidence that they will be able to successfully compete 
with tobacco grown in any part of the world. 

The greatest interest and largest development of 
late years, however, of the industry in the so-called 
"new sections," has been in Florida and the adjoining 
counties of Southern Georgia. Forty years ago, much 
of this area produced a leaf which was considered desir- 
able for cigars then in use, though most of the Florida 
crop, before the war, was exported to Bremen and 
Amsterdam, and was popular for its light color and 
mild flavor. But the industry languished until the 
tarifE agitation of 1889 directed attention to tests that 
had been conducted privately in Gadsden county, and 



436 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




CIGAR LEAF AT THE WEST AND SOUTH. 437 

publicly by the Florida experiment station. The 
Florida tobacco ''boom," started by the tariff of 1890, 
was short-lived, but the work has been persisted in. It 
is now demonstrated, since that date, that Florida has 
all the natural conditions necessary for growing cigar- 
leaf tobacco, both wrappers and fillers, of a quality equal 
to most of that which has been imported from the 
Island of Cuba in recent years, and wrappers of finer 
quality than those imported from Sumatra. These are 
strong statements, but they are justified. 

The industry in Florida has practically three divi- 
sions : First, the culture of domestic varieties, which 
are rapidly giving way to (second) the culture of 
tobacco plants raised from tlie best Cuban seed, and 
(third) the raising of Sumatran seedleaf. The seed of 
the latter was obtained with difficulty by a man sent to 
Sumatra for the purpose. A little of this importation 
was planted in Connecticut and Pennsylvania, and has 
given promising i-esults, but the bulk of the seed Avas 
distributed in Florida. The 181)6 was the third crop of 
this new variety since its importation, and it is conserv- 
ative to say that it has already revolutionized the 
cigar-leaf industry of Florida, and upward of 1,000,000 
pounds of it were i)roduced in 1896. Plates V and YI, 
on Page 30, give an admirable idea of this Florida- 
grown Sumatran seedleaf, which is quite different from 
all other tobaccos grown in America, or Cuba, and a 
view of a whole field of it is afforded on Page 434. 

Havana wrappers and fillers have been grown very 
successfully in Northern Florida, the most extensive 
operations being conducted by the Owl Cigar Company, 
in Gadsden county, who also grow Sumatran leaf. This 
concern owns 17,000 acres, divided into nine planta- 
tions and each having its superintendent. It owns 14G 
barns (each from 40x00 to 40x108 feet), 210 tenements 
for laborers, besides its own mills, repair shops, etc. 



438 TOBACCO LEAF. 

At Qnincy, it has four large warehouses, besides the 
buildings where the final fermeutatiuu and i)acking is 
done. The company raises 900 acres of tobacco annu- 
ally, besides otber crops, and packs 2500 bales of tobacco 
each year. It employs 1200 men in the growing season 
and 500 men the year through, at an annual payroll of 
1150,000. Other planters raised about 1000 acres of 
cigar leaf in the Gadsden section during 1896, making a 
total of nearly 2000 acres in that region, practically all 
of which is usually sold by the growers by October. 

The plant of Sumatran seedleaf in bloom (except for 
its flow^er) reminds one of the common sunflower rather 
than of Avhat we are accustomed to in tobacco. Its 
leaves are of so delicate a nature that after being fer- 
mented it will take about 200 of them to weigh a pound. 
Hence the wonderful "wrapping" capacity of this leaf — 
that is, the great number of cigars that can be covered 
with one pound of Sumatran seedleaf. The 1896 crop 
of it in Florida was nearly all bought up before election, 
at 20 to 50 cents per pound for the cured leaf, while it 
is claimed that selections of Florida-grown Sumatran 
leaf have sold to cigar manufacturers for $1.50 to $2 per 
pound, in ajipearance rivaling as cigar wrappers the 
finest imported from Sumatra, while in quality (that is, 
flavor, body, burn, etc.), surpassing the best Sumatran 
leaf. Unlike the leaf direct from Sumatra, which is so 
poor in quality as to be unfit for the bulk of the cigar 
(fillers and binders), this Sumatran seedleaf, when 
allowed to fully ripen, possesses quality and aroma that 
make it desirable for fillers, being wholly free from the 
bitter taste of the imported article. In this respect, it 
seems to improve after one or two years' domestication. 
In Florida, it does well on both old and new lands, 
while in Sumatra tobacco is grown largely on new land. 
Aside from its hardiness, thrift and quick-growing 
qualities, and the high price the best leaf commands. 



440 TOBACCO LEAF. 

this Florida Sumatran seedleaf is specially attractive to 
the planter, because, under the same conditions, it 
averages more i)Ounds of cured leaf per acre than do 
other varieties heretofore grown in Florida. Sumatran 
seedleaf makes 800 pounds under average conditions, 
and as high as 1000 to 1200 pounds have been claimed 
in a few instances. Mr. Curry, who had 130 acres of 
Sumatran seedleaf under his charge in Florida in 1806, 
reports an average of 800 pounds of merchantable cured 
leaf per acre. Being -so upright in growth, plants are 
set 12 to 15 inches apart, in rows three and one-half to 
four feet apart, giving 10,000 to 12,000 plants per acre. 
Col. F. B. Moodie, who has done much to develop the 
industry as president of the Florida tobacco growers' 
association, and to whom we are greatly indebted for 
much information, reports that wibh proper care seventy- 
five per cent of the crop will be fine A v^rappers, the 
balance seconds, binders and fillers. 

Imported seed is very delicate, but that from the 
first or second year's growth in Florida is much more 
hardy. But even in Northern Florida, it is never safe 
to sow this variety before the middle of March, by which 
time other varieties are usually transplanted. In Gads- 
den county, on the Gulf side, Sumatran seedleaf is 
transplanted as early as April 1 to 10. Under favorable 
conditions, it is a rapid grower, and within 40 to 50 days 
will attain the remarkable bight of six to eight feet, and 
when in flower nine to ten feet. It has been found 
best not to top the plant at all, and if at all, not until 
about four-fifths of the leaves have been harvested. 
Some top to 24 leaves, wl\ile others get 30 to 40 leaves 
on the taller plants. Early planted Sumatra is without 
spots, but the later planted crop is spotted. If the soil 
is poor, or the season dry, so that growth is slow, or if 
the plant is topped too low, the leaves are thick, dark 
and comparatively undesirable. Harvesting of the early 



CIGAR LEAF AT THE WEST AND SOUTH. 441 

crop is done from June 15 to September 15, by breaking 
off (or ''i)riming") the leaves as fast as they "speck." 
Let it be noted that tlie word "speck" is used for 
"ripe." Indeed, this variety of wrapper leaf must not 
be allowed to fully ripen, as its texture and its popular 
and delicate light pea-greenish hue will be spoiled by 
deepening into the "brown and sear." If the leaves 
are allowed to ripen, they make a good filler, better still 
after one or more years' reproduction in Florida. If 
harvested before July 1, a second crop may be grown on 
the same land. In harvesting the tobacco crop, the 
stalk is not cut until the leaves are all gathered. As 
soon as the lower leaves are ready to harvest, they are 
plucked by hand, carefully laid in baskets covered with 
burlap, and brought in carts designed for this use to a 
tent at one end of the curing barn. Three or four pick- 
ings at different times are necessary, to handle the whole 
crop. The field work is all done by negroes, who are 
paid 75 cents per day, and are under white superin- 
tendents. 

For hanging in the barn, laths are used. They are 
deeply notched at one end with a saw, and into these 
cuts the cord is drawn, which holds the leaves. Girls 
or boys striiig the leaves on these cords with a needle 
made for this purpose. The girls get 20 cents per 100 
laths and will sometimes string 350 per day. The leaves 
hang face to face and back to back, a finger breadth 
a])art, 40 to 50 leaves to a lath, as shown in Fig. 125. 
The laths hang from four to six inches apart on the 
])oles in the barn, and a barn holds from 20,000 to 
25,000 lath, being filled in a day or day and a half. The 
barn curing is done much as it is at the North, with 
careful attention to ventilation and moisture, but with- 
out artificial heat, as white vein and pole burn seem to 
be unknown. The cure is usually completed within 35 
to 40 days, when the green color has disappeared from 




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CIGAR LEAF AT THE WEST AND SOUTH. 443 

the midrib. Then tlie leaves are pulled together in the 
middle of the striug, witli which they are tied into bun- 
dles and delivered to the buyer's warehouse, the assort- 
ing having been done at the time the leaves were strung. 
The so-called "fermentation house" of the Owl 
Cigar Company, at Quincy, Florida, is thus described 
for this work by Dr. E. H. Jenkins, Ph. D., vice 
director Connecticut experiment station: "This house 
is perfectly equipped for its purpose, and in all its 
arrangements and the conduct of the operations, is a 
model of absolute neatness, order and good management. 
The rooms where the tobacco is handled over in any 
way arc steam heated, so that the temperatui-e can be 
ke]it at the desired point night and day. Witiiout not- 
ing the thermometer, I should say that none of them 
were below 75° F., and the air is kept very moist with 
escaping steam. Tobacco lies loosely on the tables, with- 
out drying out at all. The tobacco is 'bulked' imme- 
diately upon its receipt for fermentation. The aim is 
to 'cook it in its own juice,' and no blowing or dampen- 
ing of the leaf is allowed. This is regarded as vital to 
success. A 'bulk' is made by covering the floor with 
trash tobacco, fermented cuttings, etc., about six to 
sight inches deep. Uprights, to which boards can be 
tacked as the bulk is built up, hold it in jjlace. On 
this trash tobacco, the leaves are laid, tied in hands. 
Trash tobacco is also laid next the side boards. The 
bulks which Ave saw were from five to six feet, or more, 
high, and when made are covered with trash tobacco 
and blankets. The temperature of the pile rises rapidly 
and sometimes will reach 180° F., in the center. When 
the expert judges it necessary, — in extreme cases, within 
twenty-four hours after the bulk is built, — it is all 
handled over and built again close by. The leaves 
which were in the middle of the first bulk are put on 
the outside of the second. The aim is not only to make 



444 TOBACCO LEAF. 

the fermentation even for all the tobacco, but each hand 
is shaken out, as, otherwise, the leaves will stick 
together and be uneven in color, and it may be impos- 
sible to pull them apart without tearing. It may be 
necessary to repeat this turning of tlie bulks six or eight 
times before the process is complete. Often two bulks 
are mixed, if one is rather too damp and the other too 
dry. When the fermentation is done, the leaves are very 
carefully sorted as to both size and color, are tied into 
hands, these put in carottes and baled to 'age' for one 
or two years. They are fii'st put into a warm room to 
cool down and finally into a cooler storage. While this 
process of fermentation is much more expensive than 
that of fermenting in the case, it has the great advan- 
tage that the time required is much less, and the whole 
process can be watched and controlled, whereas, when 
sweated in the case, there is absolutely no supervision or 
control possible." 

Both spring and fall planting, in most parts of 
Florida, have advantages and disadvantages, but it is 
probable that the fall i)lanting will become quite as gen- 
eral as spring setting. Fall tobacco in Florida will be 
in no more danger from frost than is the spring crop at 
the North, while tiie fall crop escapes grass and weeds, 
grasshoppers, and most of the worms and otlier pests. 
Only about one-fourth as much rainfall is needed for 
the crop in October, November and December, as during 
April, May and June. It is believed, also, that this late 
crop will average in quality superior to the spring crop, 
especially for fillers, as is the case in Cuba. 

The best soil for this crop in Florida, Col. Moodie 
finds, after studying experiments in all parts of the 
State, to be a light, sandy loam, well drained, fine and 
friable, with no crude limestone cropping out, and par- 
ticularly should it be free from loose arenaceous or so- 
called ''rotten" limestone, common in many parts of 



CIGAR LEAF AT THE WEST AND SOUTH. 445 

northern, central and western Florida, where fossilized 
organic remains and phosphates are found. The tobacco 
field should be near a body or stream of fresh water, to 
insure humidity from the constant evaporation. In 
Gadsden county, where tobacco is extensively grown, 
the soils used are fine, light and sandy on the surface, 
but resting on a clayey sand at a depth of ten inches to 
two feet, which is quite moist, and at the same time 
readily permeable by water. In heavy rains, the water 
is quickly taken up from the surface, yet in very dry 
wea'Jier, the soil is damp at a depth of a few inches. 

Opinions differ as to the proper manuring of soils 
of this character for tobacco. Hoodie's advice is to 
make no application of stable or barnyard manures, ex- 
cept a light dressing of well-rotted manure on sterile 
soils, to impregnate them with the bacteria of nitrifica- 
tion. On the Gadsden extensive plantations, cottonseed 
meal is the only fertilizer used. The cautions in the 
use of manures and fertilizers that are stated in Chapter 
VI must all be observed, but much has yet to be learned 
about their application in the semi-tropics. Moodie 
maintains that the double manure salt (sulphate of pot- 
ash and magnesia) is even preferable to the high grade 
sulphate of potash under Florida conditions. 

Southern Florida, much nearer the tropics than the 
northern part of the State, is also coming to the front in 
tobacco culture. It has much the same climate and 
soil as Cuba, and has naturally attracted the attention 
of those driven out of Cuba by the war. The first plan- 
tation to be established was that at Fort Meade, Polk 
county, by the Cuban Tobacco Growers' Co., limited, 
incorporated in January, 1896, with a ca.i)ital of $150,- 
000. Its officers, with one exception, are Cubans, and 
the president and general manager have had long experi- 
ence in growing and handling tobacco in that island. 
Dr. E. H, Jenkins contributes to this work the follow- 



446 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




FIG. 127. VUELTA AHAJO TUBAOCO IN FLOKIDA. 

Beady to harvest, Nov. 1, at Ft. Meade, In 45 days from planting, grown by 
means of artificial irrigation. 



CIGAR LEAF AT THE WEST AND SOUTH. 447 

ing interesting account of it, based on a visit made a 
year later. 

The tobacco lands of the Fort Meade region are very 
light, deep, sandy soils, finer in texture than those of 
the Connecticut valley, and contain some humus. They 
have been covered, from time immemorial, with a growth 
of wood, the best of them with oak, hickory, live oak, 
magnolia, etc. At the time of our visit, no rain had 
fallen for many weeks, yet the soil was damper in ap- 
pearance and feel than our Connecticut soils after two 
weeks of dry weather. Nevertheless, the company has 
put in an irrigating plant and uses it during the grow- 
ing season. 

The seed beds made on new lands, protected from 
light frost by the surrounding timber, and fertilized 
only with the ashes of the wood and trash cut to clear 
them, are sowed in January. On Jan. 15, some beds 
were not yet sowed, in others the plants wore an inch 
high and were being weeded. The plants are eet in the 
field early in March, at the rate of about 15,000 per 
acre. Native Cubans do all the work on the cro])s, 
which are cultivated wholly by hand, with short-handled, 
very heavy hoes. The only fertilizer used is Peruvian 
guano, at the rate of about 450' pounds to the acre. 
The land appears to be kept clear of weeds, and the 
plants are hilled up, but not quite as much, pL-rhaps, as 
in Connecticut. The irrigating is done from standpipes 
six or seven feet high, with a spraying fixture which 
distributes the water (Fig. 136) over a circular iirea 
about sixty feet in diameter. The plants are suckered, 
and after topping have only eight to ten leaves on the 
average per plant, more leaves being left on strong 
plants than on feeble ones, and more on strong soil than 
on poorer land. It is stated that the plant, at harvest 
time, has the shape of an inverted cone, the top leaves 
being the largest, us appears in Fig. 127. 



44:8 TOBACCO LEAF. 

The first harvest is gathered early in June. The 
growing stalks are cut in sections, each carrying two 
leaves, and are hung on poles in the field, astraddle as 
it were, and close together. A preliminary sorting is 
done in the field, leaves of like character being hung on 
the same pole. These poles are carried to the curing 
barn by hand and put up for the barn cure. The barus 
built in the tobacco field are considerably smaller than 
those in New England or Pennsylvania. There is no 
arrangement for supplying artificial heat or moisture in 
the barns. The wrappers are kept housed till cured, 
but the fillers are occasionally brought out and hung in 
the sun and air during a part of the day, and always 
housed at night. During barn curing, as well as in the 
sweat, the crop is closely watched by the experts. Pole 
burn seems to be unknown. The whole process of 
sweating, ''betuning," etc., requires considerable skill 
and experience, is a secret one, and naturally I made no 
inquiries regarding it. 

When the first crop is cut, a sucker is left on the 
sunny side of each stalk, and this immediately starts to 
grow, and produces a second crop, sometimes in forty- 
five days, being already provided with a strong root sys- 
tem, and favored by the rains, which are more abundant 
from June on, through the summer. Even a third crop 
may sometimes be grown from the plants first set in 
February. Meantime, new seed beds have been made 
and the land is planted with tobacco a second time in 
September, and this is harvested in November or De- 
cember. Under very favorable circumstances, a second 
(sucker) cutting may be made from the planting. The 
first cutting of each crop consists chiefly of wrappers. 
The second and third are for the most part fillers. It 
is stated that an acre of land should produce at least 
1250 pounds annually, of which one-half should be 
wrappers. As none of the company's tobacco has yet 



CIGAR LEAF AT THE WEST AND SOUTH. 449 

been sold, no definite statement of price can be made. 
It is believed that it will command the same price as 
the best grades of imported Havana. This company 
was organized in January, 1896. Since then it is stated 
to have cleared 100 acres of land, and to have harvested 
and cured the tobacco from this area. The crop har- 
vested in June has been fermented, and I smoked cigars 
made wholly of this stock. It is not yet regarded as 
ready for manufacture, however. The cure is not com- 
plete till May, and the tobacco should then "age "a 
year before it will be at its best. The company itself 
will double its acreage in 1897, and has opportunity for 
unlimited extension as soon as capital is secured,, 

Many farmers see in this enterprise a very hopeful 
outlook for men of skill and energy, and are preparing 
to grow tobacco under contract with this company. The 
terms of the contract are, in general, these : The farmer 
provides the land, barns and fertilizers. The company 
provides the laborers, to be paid by the farmer at the 
rate of one dollar per day for each working day, and a 
foreman to handle the men, also paid by the farmer. 
The work is also sujiervised by the manager of the com- 
pany, without charge. The company sweats the tobacco 
and prepares it for market in the Cuban style, and for 
this receives one-third of the crop. 



450 



TOBACCO LEAF. 







Hi f< 
fin J 



PART IV. 



Tobacco manufacture. 

MISCELLANEOUS. 



45:i 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




c 3? 



CHAPTER XXI. 

023" THE MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO. 



PLUGS FOR CHEWING AND SMOKING. 

In no other line of mannfacture is there so much to 
be gained by tlie proper selection and judicious use of 
the material, as in the manufacture of plug tobacco. 
How to combine the different qualities of tobacco, with 
what sauces to treat them, how to fashion the plugs or 
twists, and what markets are to be accommodated, re- 
quire the most intelligent thought and the most skillful 
management. The tobacco leaf is exceedingly variable 
in its component elements. Its secrets are the secrets 
of chemistry and bacteriology. It presents endless prob- 
lems and constant study for their solution. The manip- 
ulation differs with each variety or gi-ade, and no two 
types or grades of tobacco will produce precisely the 
same results under the same treatment. The taste and 
flavor of the product must be agreeable to the consumer, 
and the tastes of consumers vary. What will suit one 
class of consumers would probably be very distasteful to 
another class. The man of sedentary habits prefers a 
mild, sweet tobacco, with a small content of nicotine. 
On the other hand, the field laborer, the sailor, the fish- 
erman or the man living an outdoor life, is best pleased 
with strong tobacco. The habits, as well as the tastes, 
of men must therefore be considered by the successful 
manufacturer. 

453 



454 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




THE MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO. 455 

The manufacture of tobacco lias been going on for 
centuries, and from the simple operation of taking out 
the midrib and putting it up into twists, the industry 
now employs the most skilled labor and the most com- 
plete mechanical appliances for treating it with sauces, 
drying it by artiticial heat, reordering it by steam, 
weighing, putting on the wrapper, and compressing into 
plugs in various forms and sizes. 

The Burley of Kentucky and Ohio, and the sun, 
air and flue cured tobacco of Virginia and the Carolinas, 
constitute the fillers for the greatest part of the plug 
tobacco of the United States. The wrappers also come 
from Virginia, the Carolinas and the White Burley dis- 
tricts. The Burley fillers are sometimes whitish, but 
generally of a cinnamon color, of a tough, waxy finish 
and silky fiber. These fillers have more body and gum 
than the cutting leaf from the same districts. The raw 
material is put up in casks, of an average weight of 1000 
pounds for Burley fillers, and 750 pounds for Virginia 
and Carolina wrappers. The tobacco is packed in uni- 
form layers, and but slightly compressed, so the leaves 
may open freely. 

In a properly constructed tobacco factory, the first 
work begins in the upper story, to which the hogsheads 
are elevated. The work begins in the leaf department. 
The casks are taken off, so as to expose the tobacco. It 
is taken up, bundle by bundle, and shaken. The infe- 
rior tobacco is thrown in one pile, and the better quali- 
ties assorted and put in other piles. Water is sprinkled 
over each layer of bundles as they are put in th.c piles, 
and the tobacco remains in this condition for twenty- 
four hours, so that the moisture may become evenly dis- 
tributed. AVomen mainly, and sometimes men, are em- 
ployed (see Fig. 130) in untying the bundles, and pick- 
ing, leaf by leaf, assorting and separating them into the 
different qualities suitable for the various brands to be 



456 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




THE MAIfUFACTURE OF TOBACCO. 457 

made in the factory. The leaves are tlieii brought into 
a high state of moisture by steam, and the midribs or 
stems removed. Tlie stems form about 30 per cent of 
the whole quantity, and the leaf about 70 per cent. 
After this, the strips or stemless leaves are passed, by 
chutes, to the next floor below, which is called the wrap- 
per room (Figo 131), where the sauces and other flavor 
ings are applied by dipping the leaves in a vat filled with 
tlie flavoring liquids. These sauces are compounded 
and cooked in immense kettles arranged for the purpose, 
and their density is determined by hydrometers, so as to 
keep them true to the formula adopted. These formu- 
las are usually one of the secrets of the manufacturer, 
and upon the popularity of the flavor used depend, in a 
great degree, the profits of the business. This sweet- 
ened and cooked liquid is poured into immense vats. 
After the leaves have been thoroughly saturated with 
the liquid, they are made to pass through wringers, so 
as to press out the surplus liquid, which flows back into 
the vat. The leaves are then passed over a scries of 
heated rollers, becoming thorougldy dry, but arc again 
reordered by steam and packed in bulk, to remain until 
wanted for making into plugo 

The next step is to pass the mass of sweetened leaves, 
by a chute, to the floor below, or lump room, where it is 
weighed, enough at a time to make a plug, and tliis 
quantity is put in a shaper, which gives the desired form 
and size to the plugs. These pressed plugs are passed 
to benches or stands, where the wrappeis are put on by 
skillful men. These wrappers are carefully selected, as 
*"o color and character of leaf, so that the same general 
appearance may be given to the plugs of the same class. 
All plugs deficient in weight or defective in color are 
rejected. The perfect plugs are now dried and packed 
in boxes for the floor below, where they are put in iron 
cases and pressed and creased (Fig. 132, Page 400). 



458 TOBACCO LEAF. 

The different brands require different hydraulic 
pressure. 81iai)e mills and pot mills are used. While 
the plugs are under pressure, they are put in gums and 
allowed to sweat or ferment. Some brands are fermented 
lightly, others undergo a long process of fermentation. 
In each case, the purpose is to adapt it to the market for 
which it is intended and where it is in demand. 

After this fermenting process, the plugs are taken 
out and again carefully inspected, the faulty ones being 
rejected and tlie perfect ones tagged and packed in boxes. 
When the boxes are filled, only enough pressure is put 
on to get in the heads. When these are fastened in the 
boxes, they are sent to the shipping room, where they 
are branded witli name, size of the plug, and the gross 
and net weights of each box. There is a groove on each 
box for the goyernment stamp, which must be placed 
on each package, and then varnished and canceled. The 
boxes are strai)pod in packages of five or more, for 
shipment. 

Cut plug tobacco is carried through a similar proc- 
ess, except that it is not wrajiped. It is made into 
various sizes, blocks or slabs, and cut into slices for 
fancy tin or paper box work, or shagged for boxes or 
pouches, as customers may desire. Cut plug is made by 
a costly ])atented machine, constructed for the purpose. 
It is put up in packages varying in weight from two to 
sixteen ounces, stamped and packed in wooden cases for 
shipment, according to the requirements of the trade. 

Tlie J. Wriglit Company, of Eiclimoud, Va., to 
whom the authors are indebted for the cuts that accom- 
pany this description, and also for the main data contained 
in it, is one of the largest plug manufacturing establish- 
ments in the world. The company has every modern 
appliance, convenience and improvement for facilitating 
the work and obtaining the highest results, as to the 
excellence and handsome appearance of their products. 



THE MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO. 459 

It uses seven distinct styles of wrappers : 1, Lemon ; 
2, ortinge; 3, bright mahogany; 4, dark mahogany; 
5, i)iebakl or tortoise shell; G, black wrapper; 7, cherry 
red. The factoi-y emjjloys from 350 to 400 hands, and 
has the capacity for turning out 15,000 pounds of man- 
ufactured work daily. Every department is thoroughly 
organized and run on correct business principles. An 
idea of its works is given in Fig. 133, Page 462. 

THE MANUFACTURE OF SNUFF. 

There are five kinds of snufE manufactured in the 
United States: The Scotch or "eating" snuff, the 
maccaboy or inhaling snuff, the sweet snuff and salting 
snuff, the two latter being used for dipping. Eappee 
snuff is made, to some extent, in the United States, but 
largely in France, from American tobacco. 

The material used for making Scotch snuff consists 
of heavy, dark tobacco of medium grade, and good 
"fatty" lugs. The stock is kept at least two years in 
hogsheads before it is used. It is then tiiken out, bun- 
dle by bundle, and passed through a cutting machine, 
where the leaves, including the stems, are coarsely cut. 
When cut, it is packed in hogsheads and made to go 
through tliree successive fermentations. 

In these processes of fermentation, the heat reaches 
from 90° to 100° F. Each period of fermentation is 
arrested by exposing the tobacco to tiie air. It is then 
repacked and made to go through another fermentation. 
After three fermentations, which require about six 
weeks, — sometimes more, sometimes less, according to 
the richness and character of the tobacco used, — the 
tobacco is thoroughly dried, by exposing it in wide, flat 
iron pans for a short time to a high degree of heat. It 
is then carried from the pans to pulverizers, which con- 
sist of a series of mills, each of which has three heavy 
iron rollers rubbing against the concave and inner sur- 



460 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




THE MANUPACTUKE OF TOBACCO. 461 

face of a hemispherical iron vessel, tlic pulverized tobacco 
being discharged through an opening in the bottom, 
like that of a fixed wash basin. The snuff passes from 
the pulverizers to bolting cloths, not unlike those used 
for bolting flour. After it is bolted, the process of man- 
ufacture is completed. The snuff is then, by a machine, 
packed automatically in six-ounce bottles made for the 
purpose, or in four-ounce tin cans, and put in wooden 
boxes holding eighteen pounds or less, for shipping. 
The largest market for this snuff is Germany. It is 
used extensively, especially by the negroes, and to a 
lesser extent by white people, in Louisiana, Mississippi, 
Arkansas, Texas and the Indian Territory. Smaller 
quantities are used in all the States. 

Maccaboy snuff is used, both for inhaling and the 
mouth. It is highly perfumed, the attar of roses being 
the chief ingredient. It is consumed largely in New 
England. Until recently, only Virginia tobacco was 
employed in its manufacture, but now about an equal 
quantity of Tennessee, or Kentucky, and Virginia is used, 
and it consists of a heavy bodied leaf of a waxen charac- 
ter. The snuff is darkened by being scorched to some ex- 
tent, and by being subjected to treatment by dark sauces. 

Sweet snuff is made, like Scotch snuff, by treating 
the leaves of tobacco with some jjreparation of licorice 
before the snuff is made. It is used exclusively for dip- 
ping, and finds the greatest number of consumers in the 
Carolinas. 

Salting snuff is made of the same character of to- 
bacco as Scotch snuff, but it is salted. It is also used 
for the mouth. 

Eappee snuff is made exclusively from Virginia 
tolmcco. It is manufactured principally in France, the 
tobacco for that jiurpose ])eing imported by the regie 
contractors. Years ago, when tlie dark crop of tobacco 
was much larger than it is now, the French government 



462 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



aimed to secure for this purpose a short, waxy leaf, and 
heavy bodied, low grades, but the area of dark tobacco 
having become circumscribed in Virginia, as compared 
witli that for bright leaf, these fine grades of short leaf 
and best lugs have been in demand for the German mar- 
kets at such high prices that France now substitutes a 
commoner grade of Virginia tobacco for making rappee 
snuff. This lower grade is soaked in some decoction 
which turns it black, after which it is dried, prized and 
sent to France for that purpose. Eappee snuff is used 




FIG. 133. PLUG TOBACCO FACTORY OF .1. WKIGHT CO., RICHMOND, VA. 

altogether for inhaling. The practice of inhaling snuff 
through the nostrils was once very common, but this 
habit has nearly gone out of use. It was once much 
affected by royal personages, and snuff boxes were con- 
sidered not inappropriate presents fi'om one monarch to 
another, or from kings to those subjects who had distin- 
guished themselves in the battlefield or in the councils 
of the State. 

Much of the information contained in this article 
(vas furnished by Mr. B. F. McKeage, of the snuff fac- 



THE MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO. 463 

tory belonging to the Stewart-Kalph Company, of 
Clarksville, Tenn. This factory, under his management, 
is supplied with the most modern machinery and con- 
venience for making Scotch snuff, and it has a capacity 
of 8000 pounds per day. 

PIPE-SMOKING TOBACCO. 

The manufacture of this article, as the working of 
tobacco for any purpose, involves the most experienced 
Judgment and knowledge of market wants and con- 
sumers' tastes. The various kinds and qualities of leaf 
are carefully assorted and brought together in the 
desired quantities and jiroportions. The leaf is then 
cut into flakes and afterwards granulated by a machine 
made for the purpose. By straining the granulated 
product through sieves, the exact size for pipe smoking 
is separated. The tobacco for granulation should con- 
tain enough moisture to prevent its being ground into 
powder or snuff, when it could be drawn througli the 
stem of a pipe in smoking, causing discomfort to the 
smoker. The granulated tobacco is dampened with 
spirits, or lic[Uids, of special formulas, in order to keep 
it in proper condition when packed. Certain flavors are 
also added to certain brands in the process of manu- 
facture. Smoking tobacco is packed by machinery in 
cotton sacks of various colors and sizes, each holding 
from two ounces to a pound. The sacks are provided 
with a draw string and an internal revenue stamp is 
put upon each sack. Some tobacco is not granulated, 
but simply cut into shreds for smoking, Perique being 
often so prepared. The making of these bags consti- 
tutes an important department, and 100,000 of the 
sacks are produced daily in the Durham factory de- 
scribed herewith. The manufacturers' labels are pasted 
upon the sacks in the stamping room, and the filled bags 
are packed in paper boxes, these being shipped in wooden 



464 TOBACCO LEAF. 

cases. The box shop and printing office (Fig. 134) is 
an important department of a large factory, while the 
packing room (Fig. 135, page 476,) is larger and em- 
ploys even more help. The internal revenue stamps 
are put onio the packages in a special department, called 
the stanij) room and canceling room (Fig. 136), in which 
millions of stamps are used and canceled, the amount 
paid for stamps by the Durham Company reaching up- 
wards of a million dollars a year. A new machine 
automatically packs tobacco in the bags and labels them. 
The largest manufactory of pii)e-smoking tobacco 
in the world is that of Black well's Durham Tobacco 
Comjiany at Durham, N. C, the main building of 
which is illustrated in Fig. 129, and glimpses into some 
of its departments are given in illustrations 134, 135 
and 136, all made from photographs taken specially for 
this work. This business was established by the late 
John R. Green, who selected the famous trade-mark of 
the Durham bull that is now so familiar all over the hab- 
itable globe, this trade-mark being an absolute guarantee 
of a quality of smoking tobacco that never varies and 
never deteriorates. W. T. Blackwell succeeded the 
founder of the business, and later, Mr. Julian S. Carr be- 
came president and has enormously developed the busi- 
ness, which has resulted in the development of a populous 
and prosperous city at Durham. The premises occupy 
13 acres of ground and the main factory has a frontage 
of 350 feet, exclusive of seven large warehouses for the 
storage of tobacco, besides outljuildings, engine room, 
stables, etc. The company also manufactures cut plug 
tobacco for either chewing or smoking, and during the 
busy season employs 1000 hands. 

FINE CUT TOBACCO. 

Fine cut tobacco is only the leaf cut into fine shreds. 
The tobacco employed for this purpose in the United 



THE MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO. 465 

States is very thin, chaffy and, as far as possible, desti- 
tute of gummy matter. It is stemmed, moistened and 
pressed by a screw into a trough, and fed by machinery 
to a series of knives arranged around the outer circum- 
ference of a wheel. The wheel is made to revolve with 
great rapidity. After the tobacco is cut into fine shreds, 
it is spread upon trays and exposed to heat, whicli 
causes the compressed shreds to fall apart. The cut 
product is packed in buckets and sometimes in boxes or 
bags. It is used for chewing, smoking and the manu- 
facture of cigarettes. When used for chewing, it is 
sauced with sweet liquids as plug tobacco. 

CIGARETTES AND CIGARETTE TOBACCO. 

The manufacture and consumption of cigarettes 
has increased amazingly in the United States during the 
past 20 years. The production in the United States in 
1875 was 41,000,000 ; in 1896 it was 4,000,000,000, or 
nearly 100 times as great. 

Cigarettes of the best quality are made of tobacco 
from three to four years old. The leaves are verv care- 
fully selected, stemmed and dried, and then brought 
into order and cut into shreds, of which the finer qual- 
ities of cigarettes are made. It requires four pounds of 
leaf tobacco, or three pounds of stemmed tobacco, to 
make one thousand cigarettes. The wrappers are of 
either tobacco or paper. When made of tobacco, the 
best leaves are used for this purpose, and the wrappers are 
cut by hand between the veins, so that the small stems, 
or veins, will not show on the cigarette. The paper 
used is made mainly in France and is called rice paper. 
It burns without odor and almost without ash. It is 
very thin, but tough and almost transparent, and is said 
to be made from the fiber of the cocoanut palm. Paste 
of the finest quality is used for cementing the wrappers ; 
sometimes the wrappers are fastened by crimping the 
30 



466 TOBACCO LEAF. 

edges. After the tobacco is cut, it is dried and made 
ready for Avorking, either by hand or by a machine. 
The machine for making cigarettes (of which there are 
about 25 different kinds), although simple to ojjerate, is 
a wonderful piece of mechanism, which takes the to 
bacco and converts it into perfect cigarettes at the rate 
of 100,000 to 200,000 per day of 10 hours. 

Before the invention of this machine, cigarettes were 
made almost entirely by girls, whose deft fingers enabled 
them to do the work more rapidly and more neatly than 
when done by men. The average number made by each 
girl is about 2000 per day, sometimes 2500, by which it 
appears that one machine, operated at a minimum caj^ac- 
ity, can do the work of about 50 girls in the manufacture 
of cigarettes. A large number of girls, however, find 
employment in packing and stamping the product 
turned out by the machine. The packages are put up 
in a highly artistic and attractive way, so as to catch the 
eye of the consumer. 

There are some markets in which the handmade 
cigarettes are preferred to those made by machinery, and 
the supply for these markets are made by girls. The 
all-tobacco cigarettes are made by hand, and the wrap- 
pers and fillers used are of the finest selections oi Vir- 
ginia and Havana tobacco. The fillers are first pressed 
in molds and then wrajDped, just as cigars are made. 
Virginia fillers are preferred by most manufacturers. 
An expert maker of cigarettes can earn from 11.50 to $2 
per day. All-tobacco cigarettes require the greatest 
care in the selection of suitable tobacco. 

One of the leading manufacturers of cigarettes in 
Eichmond, Va., Cameron & Cameron, blend together, 
for making cigarettes, various kinds of tobacco, embrac- 
ing the Virginia, North Carolina, Turkish, Peri(ine, 
Havana, Latakio and Brazilian. The manipulation of 
so many kinds can be successfully accomplished only by 



THE MANUFACTUKE OF TOBACCO. 4G7 

long experience, good judgment, acquaintance with the 
markets and with the tastes of the consumers. Two 
weeks are required from the time the tobacco goes into 
the factory until it comes out in the form of cigarettes. 

THE MAKING OF CIGARS. 

This is "easy enough when you know how," but as 
has been stated (Pages 71-75), the ins and outs of mak- 
ing cigars are to be learned only by practical experience. 
The selection of the qualities of leaf for the different 
parts of the cigar requires a peculiar combination of ex- 
perience, knowledge and taste, that brings to its hapi)y 
possessor a large salary in the great cigar factories. The 
leaf, or part of it for the cigar, is often treated with 
sauces, or special preparations, to imjirove its quality, 
to hide its inferiorities, or to suit cei'tain tastes. It 
must also be proj^erly moistened to work nicely. In 
Havana, Catalan wine is sometimes put in the water in 
which fillers are immersed, to improve the quality. 

The regulations of the internal revenue bureau im- 
pose strict accountability upon cigar makers, as well as 
upon manufacturers of other leaf, for all of the tobacco 
they use. Evasion of these rules is heavily punished, 
and the system has been reduced to an almost perfect 
state, to secure the utmost amount of revenue fruni the 
taxes imposed, with the least interference with the 
trade, or inconvenience to manufacturers. The maker 
of cigars has to conform to government rules, and this 
involves certain restrictions. The government even 
limits the number of pounds of cigar leaf required for 
certain purposes, and every bit of leaves, stems, waste, 
etc., must be accounted for. The allowance is 25 
]>ounds of wrappers, binders and fillers for 1000 cigars. 
The way in which this quantity is divided varies accord- 
ing to the kind of cigars made and quality of product. 
Two pounds of the very finest quality of Sumatran leaf 



468 TOBACCO LEAF, 

lias wrapped 1000 five-inch, handmade cigars, and four 
or five pounds finest quality domestic seedleaf, but a less 
amount is required to wrap form-made cigars. An 
experienced manufacturer estimates as a fair average 
four pounds wrappers, nine pounds binders and twelve 
pounds fillers to make 1000 cigars of ordinary size and 
good quality ; another says five, eight and twelve pounds 
respectively, and still another, seven, seven and eleven 
pounds. 

Machinery has already invaded the field of cigar 
manufacture. At present, however, only about 12 per 
cent of the cigar factories of the United States are suffi- 
ciently large to profitably employ the most modern 
method of machinery. In Europe, still fewer factories 
are of sufficient size to warrant the investment necessary 
in a machine plant, except in the Eegie countries. The 
history of the development of the application of ma- 
chinery to cigar making is full of interest. The suction 
roller table has, to a certain extent, revolutionized cigar 
manufacture, and, at the present time, it is claimed that 
about one-fifth of the cigars made in the United States 
are rolled upon it. Many of the cheap cigars are made 
in the larger factories, either throughout or in part, by 
machinery. One of the most useful and most common 
is the stripping machine, which contains a small round 
knife that cuts the stem out clean, without tearing the 
leaf. Space forbids a detailed description of the various 
machines employed. Even the details of cigar making by 
hand, vary with different workmen and in different fac- 
tories, but the bulk of the cigars consumed in the United 
States are still made by hand or form. Cigar makers 
are thoroughly organized and obtain excellent wages. 
The handmade method of cigar manufacture is about as 
follows : 

Casing. — When the manufacturer opens the one or 
more cases, or bales, of tobacco he has purchased to carry 



THE MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO. 469 

on his business, he finds the contents very dry and 
breakable. This dry tobacco has to be carefully taken 
out, as needed, piece by piece, shaken gently to separate 
the leaves, dipped thoroughly in a tub of water and re- 
moved, or well drenched with a sprinkling pot, and left 
to "draw" over night. It is then moist and pliable, 
and ready for stripi^ing. 

stripping. — This is done mostly by girls and women, 
and consists in stemming and booking. The worker is 
given a quantity of tobacco, and she first takes the stem 
out of each leaf and puts the divided leaf in a little pile. 
Then, when she thinks she has enough stemmed tobacco, 
say for a pad, she smooths out over her knee, or books, 
each piece, and when she has enough for a pad (the 
weight may or may not be defined), she doubles the 
smoothed-out pile over once and ties it up, and this 
tied-up bunch is the pad. Of course, the wrapper strip- 
per is given the finest and most costly tobacco, that 
which is to be used for the outside of the cigar, and as 
even this contains a good deal of inferior leaf, she must 
throw aside such into the binder pile, and it is included 
by the binder stripper in the binder-leaf tobacco that 
has been given her to strip. Sometimes there is a leaf 
selector, who does nothing but sort out the inferior leaf 
from the unstemmed wrappers, and then the wrapper 
stripper does not have to stop to do any sorting herself. 
It is only the expert stripper, she who has the best and 
most practical understanding of the kind of leaf requi- 
site for wrapping cigars, and who has the delicacy of 
touch and the trained eye for color to enable her to 
make a quick decision of the unsuitability for wrappers 
of the leaf she handles, who is accepted as a wrapper 
stripper, and she, of course, is given higher wages than 
the handler of binders and fillers. The fillers are partly 
stemmed and thrown carelessly into a pile, except the 
finer grades, which are more often booked. The fillers 



470 



TOBACCO LEAF, 




THE MANUFACTURE OF TOBACCO. 471 

that arc not booked sometimes get too dry for use, when 
tliey are moistened, and also often treated with a flavor- 
ing preparation. 

Preparing for Work. — The workman sits at a table, 
which contains a drawer for waste, and on which is 
placed a rack for holding the cigars he makes; he has 
also, attached to his table, a "board" of some hard 
material, on which he rolls his cigars, a stationary knife 
(tuck cutter) for cutting them off the desired length, a 
box of gum tragacanth colored with licorice to make 
it of the color of tobacco, with which he pastes the ends 
of tobacco around the tip or head of the cigar, and a 
smaller knife to cut the leaf. At his side is a box of 
fillers. On the table at the left is a pad of wrappers, 
unbound, and covered over with a damp cloth, and in 
front a pad of binders. He is now ready to go to work. 

The Making of Handmade Cigars. — The work- 
man takes a wrapper leaf from under the cloth at his 
left, spreads it out on his board, and cuts it into one, 
two or three wrappers (remember, that what is now called 
the leaf is but half of the original leaf, since the middle 
stem has been taken out). If this leaf (that is, half 
leaf) is very fine, he can, perhaps, cut three wrappers, 
but generally this is not done, as the veins are likely to 
get too thick as you get down to the butt of the leaf, 
and it will not do to have the thick veins show on the 
cigar covering. Sometimes, in large factories, the Su- 
matra is divided into three parts, Ko. 1, 2 and 3. If 
the workman gets a pad marked No. 1, he knows he is 
expected to get one wrapper out of each leaf ; No. 2 re- 
quires two wrappers, and from No. 3 he is expected to 
cut three wrappers. The wrapper being cut into, say, 
two pieces, the workman lays them to one side, throwing 
what is left into his drawer. Next, he takes a binder, 
lays it on the board, breaks it into a large and small 
piece, throws the bits not wanted into the drawer, then 



472 TOBACCO LEAF. 

takes the larger piece and smooths it out, lays the 
smaller piece on top of it for the inside lining, gathers 
up a handful of fillers, which he makes of the right 
thickness and nearly the right length, then puts this 
filler bunch inside the binder and rolls it i^p smoothly 
by hand. If the filler is not put into the binder straight, 
the binder will roll up twisted and the cigar will smoke 
one-sided. When the binder is rolled up over the filler, 
then the wrapper is rolled on, tucking it well in at the 
beginning, and rounding it to a more or less pointed tip 
or head, which is pasted together with the gum traga- 
canth, cutting the head neatly around with the hand knife. 
In some factories, a thimble is used to more perfectly 
and neatly shape the head. Then the cigar is set under 
the stationary knife, or tuck cutter, and cut off the de- 
sired length at the butt or tuck, the name being derived 
from the careful tucking in of the wraj^per at this place. 
This cutter contains a movable contrivance for measur- 
ing the desired length of cigar, which varies from three 
to seven inches. The cigar is now finished and set in 
the rack, head front. 

Form Cigars. — These are made the same as the 
handmade, except that the bunch of fillers is not so 
thick, and is put into a wooden form of any desired 
shape, which varies from a Perfecto shape, which is 
pointed at both ends, to a straight cigar, of even thick- 
ness all the way through. These molds usually hold 
twenty bunches. When the mold is filled, it is placed 
under a press for seven or eight hours, or longer, when 
the bunches are ready to be taken out and covered with 
the wrapper. These form cigars are usually of an infe- 
rior grade to the handmade, and do not require such 
expert workmanship. Of course, high-grade cigars can 
be made with the form, but the smoker generally gets 
more for his money in the handmade, in which the 
filler bunch is more solid, causing the cigar to be filled 



THE MANUFACTUKE OF TOBACCO. 473 

with more smoking material. In some large factories, 
however, the "handmade" workman is required to use 
a shaper, a small mold that will contain and shape one 
bunch while anotlier is being got ready. This workman 
need not be so expert in his ability to make the cigar of 
just the required shape from the sense of feeling as is 
the genuine handmade worker. 

Packing. — The filled rack of cigars is taken from 
the workman's table into the packing room, and the 
packer, who must be an expert at distinguishing colors, 
sorts the cigars into tlie five common colors, the cigar 
being "stronger" as the color grows darker. The 
packer also inserts the box scent, then tacks down the 
cover. 

The Flavoring or Scent. — Inferior fillers are often 
"doctored" with sharp-flavored liquids to improve their 
taste, such as rum and water, alcohol and water, various 
sour wines, cider, vinegar, etc. Box scent, so-called, is 
not necessarily used to cover imperfections, but to keep 
the cigars, which are sometimes shut up for a long time, 
and would likely suffer from atmospheric changes, in 
good flavor and smell. Still, this scent has a good deal 
to do with the popularity of even fine-grade goods, and 
the secret of its various combinations is impossible to 
discover from the manufacturer who makes a popular 
brand. Various articles are, of co^^rse, used, among 
them being Spanish licorice, rum, lemon, cedar, vanilla 
bean, the oils of various spices, and so on ad infinitum. 
Then there are many flavors on the market, but the 
secret of their manufacture is kept, and while a good 
deal of these prepared flavors is bought, the ambitious 
manufacturer is ever on the alert to discover some more 
popular combination. The packer sprinkles a little of 
the scent he is required to use in the bottom of the box, 
or on the top or middle row of cigars. 

The Waste. — The bits from the wrappers and bind- 



474 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



ers in the workman's drawer, together with refuse left 
from the fillers that Avere too short to he used as such, 
and the tucks that are cut off from the cigar in measur- 
ing its length, are dried and run through a sieve, and 
thus made into scraps, of which the cheapest or scrap 
cigars are made, these siftings being used as filling. 
They are also used to manufacture cigarettes, ^'hese 
scraps are, in turn, run through a finer sieve, and the 
comparatively very small amount of dust that runs 
through, which consists of about five per cent of the 
whole amount of tobacco used, is employed for snuff, or 
sold for fertilizing purposes. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

TOBACCO AS A REMEDY. 

Tobacco has almost passed out of the materia 
medica in the modern practice of medicine. Rarely is it 
now prescribed for any ailment whatever, though at one 
time it was thought to be a specific for many diseases. 
Within recent years, however, attention has again been 
directed to tobacco as a remedial agent, through the 
efforts of the late Geii. T. L. Clingman, of North Car- 
olina, who for many years represented that State in Con- 
gress, first as a representative and then as a senator. 
Gen. Clingman believes there is no remedy so effective 
for relieving wounds, bruises, sprains, etc., as tobacco 
applied externally, in the form of a poultice. He cured 
a severe sprain of the ankle by poulticing it with wet 
tobacco leaves and keeping them moist. A severe gun- 
shot wound of the leg was cured by wrapping the limb 
in leaf tobacco covered with wet cloths. An injury to 
his eye was also cured by a wet tobacco poultice. Its 
effect seems to be to take out all the inflammation, and 
where promptly applied, Gen. Clingman claims, any 
external wound cannot become sufficiently inflamed to 
cause mortification. In case of his eye, sight was given 
up by all the doctors, but after the tobacco poultice had 
been kept on five days, the eye resumed its natural 
appearance and the siglit was fully restored. He reports 
physicians using a tol)acco poultice since then, and cites 
many instances of its successful application for sore eyes, 
sore throat, erysipelas (some very bad cases), sciatica, 
bunions, corns, bites, boils, tumors, swelling of various 
475 



476 



TOBACCO LEAF. 




TOBACCO AS A REMEDY. 477 

kinds, colds and similar troubles. When the wet 
tobacco is applied, says General Clingman, the first 
effect is stimulating. In twenty or thirty minutes, how- 
ever, the sedative effect is perceived. When it is placed 
on the eyelids, as some of the jaice gets into the eye, 
there is usually an itching sensation and a little pain, 
but in a few minutes this passes off and there is no more 
feeling than if a wet cloth were applied. Most persons 
sleep under the influence, but some do not, as it is a 
nerve tonic as well as a sedative. If the tobacco be 
applied only to the affected parts, no nausea will be felt 
until the inflammation has been subdued, when the 
bandage should be removed. Generally, two hours after 
application a sedative effect is attained, but in obstinate 
cases a much longer time may be required. 

Leaf tobacco should be used for the poultices, but if 
this is not practicable, manufactured, or plug, tobacco, 
well softened in water, may be applied, but the latter 
frequently contains drugs that may interfere with its 
usefulness. The darker leaves are stronger and better 
than the light yellow leaves. Leaves of plants cut last 
year are better than those freshly cut, as tobacco seems 
to gather strength with age. A bunch of these leaves, 
thrown into a bowl of cold water, will become moist and 
soft, so that the large stem in the center may be taken 
out. Hot water will answer the purpose sooner than 
cold, but either will do. When this is done, not less 
than two thicknesses of the leaf should be placed 
directly on the part to be relieved. As, however, the 
heat of the skin tends to dry the tobacco in a few min- 
utes, a wet bandage must be laid over it. About four 
thicknesses of common white cotton cloth will be suffi- 
cient, but this should be well soaked in the water before 
it is put on, then a bandage of the same cloth may be 
tied over it, and water from time to time should be ap- 
plied by pressing a wet rag on it, so as to keep the 



478 



T015A0C0 LEAF. 




TOBACCO AS A REMEDY. 479 

tobacco moist. When one wishes to cure a hiiiiion or 
corn, after tlie to})acco lias l^eeii applied as above 
directed, it is easy to get tiie sock over it, and by moist- 
ening tlic sock from time to time, a cure is usually 
effected in a single night.- 

General Clinginan, speaking of cases coming under 
his own observation, says: "All cases of erysipelas, 
whether on the head or face, or any other part of the 
body, are cured. In some cases, where tlie head was 
swollen to almost douljle size, and the paiient was sup- 
posed by the attending physicijin iibout to die, an aj)[)li- 
cation of tobacco effected a complete cure. Again, all 
cases of sore eyes, whether caused l)y injury or disease, 
and whether old cases, or fresli ones, have been cured. 
In some cases, where there was total blindness, a cure 
was at once effected and the sight restored i)erfectly. 
In the third })lace, all wounds, whether cuts, bruises or 
contusions, have been easily cured. Sprains of the knee 
or ankle joints, wliere they were swollen to double the 
natural size, have been comi)lctely cured by a single 
night's application. Old eases, where the })atient has 
suffered for months and years, have been cured. Cases 
of sore throat are cured, whether caused by diphtheria, 
croup, scarlet fever, or (j^uinsy. In more than one 
instance, the })atient was cured when seemingly at the 
point of death, and the case pronounced hopeless by the 
attending physician. Bone felons have been cured, 
usually by a single night's application of the tobacco." 

General Clingman was informed of a numl)er of 
cases in which the tobacco was a])plied as a remedy for 
hemorrhoids, and in every instance a single night's 
ap{)lication is represented to have effected a cure. If 
to])acco should be applied to a wound, neither mortifica- 
tion nor lockjaw would ever supervene. In one case of 
lockjaw, where the surgeon had pronounced the case 
hopeless, according to the public statement of a gentle- 



480 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



man, a cure, it is asserted, was effected by the application 
of a tobacco poultice to the stomach. 

For cholera morbus, an application of tobacco to the 
stomach, it is said, gives relief. A senator told him 
that when suffering constipation most terribly he had 




FIG. 137. A PEEP INTO THE " DURHAM " OFFICE (See Page 463). 

two physicians with him for two days and nights, with 
no advantage from their remedies, and when the pain 
became so intolerable that he felt that he would not get 
through the night, he caused a poultice of tobacco to be 
applied to his side and back, and in luilf an hour he was 
relieved and immediately recovered. Again, a great 



i 



TOBACCO AS A REMEDY. -ibl 

many cases of neuralgia, whether the case was accom- 
panied with inflammation or not, General Clingman says, 
have been cured by tobacco. In one case, the patient 
said his eye was so much inflamed that it seemed about 
to burst, and the application effected a complete cure. 
Physicians in some parts of North Carolina aver that all 
cases of orchitis are cured by tobacco, and usually in one 
night. 

Tobacco is a very valuable insecticide for use against 
vermin on domestic animals, and in the greenhouse, as 
well as for other pests. It may be used in the form of a 
decoction, in smoke, or dry. The refuse stems and 
powders from the cigar factories are very valuable as 
insecticides and fertilizers, aud frequently, in the Mid- 
dle Western States, they may be obtained for little, or 
nothing. The decoction is made by boiling refuse to- 
bacco stems or dust in water, or pouring Avater over 
them. This gives a concentrated li([uid, which is to be 
diluted with cold water, until there are two gallons of 
water for each pound of tobacco used. It is a good 
remedy for plant lice. A stronger formula, recom- 
mended b\ Mr. M. V. Slingerland, is to steep five 
pounds of tobacco stems in three gallons of water for 
three hours ; then strain, and dilute with enough water 
to make seven gallons, when the decoction is ready to 
use. A cheap grade of tobacco is employed in making a 
sheep wash. About 20 pounds of tobacco is steeped, or 
boiled, in 40 gallons of water, and the sheep dijiped in 
the liquid. This is a sure remedy for ticks and other 
vermin ; and is of frequent use by the flockmasters of 
the West. 

No application to young fruit trees is so effective in 
destroying grubs and other pests as tobacco. Tobacco 
stalks may be used for the purpose. They are piled up 
around the roots of the trees, about a large armful to 
each tree. These stalks are also an excellent fertilizer 
31 



483 TOBACCO LEAF. 

for the young trees, stimulating their growth without 
producing a dryness in the soil, or attracting vermin, as 
stable manure often does. After the decay of the stalks, 
the ground is left mellow and moist. 

Tobacco stems are an excellent top-dressing for 
young grass. They conserve moisture and add fertility 
to the soil. Applied to wheat fields in autumn, in any 
form, — leaves, stalks or stems, — tobacco exerts the most 
beneficent influence, both on the character of the growth 
and the quality of the berry. In a pulverized condition, 
it makes one of the best applications for seed beds. Put 
in the hills where the tobacco plant is to be set, it 
greatly aids the growth and improves the quality of the 
cured product. 




APPENDIX. 



Chemical Analyses. 

Statistics of Yield and Manufacture. 

Prices in Home and Foreign Markets. 

Taxation and Consumption. 

books on tobacco. 

Index. 



APPEE'DIX. 



Chemical Analyses of the Tobacco Plant. 



R. J. Davidson, at the Virginia experiment station, is doing 
(1890-'97) a great amount of original analytical work of practical value, 
from which we condense the following : 

Table IX.— COMPO.SITION OF VIRGINIA LEAF (AVERAGE OF MATURE 

BRADLEY BROADLEAF, GOLD FINDER, PLANTS OF 

WHITE BURLEY AND YELLOW ORINOCO). 











100 lbs. of each part 
of the plant contains 




Leaf. 

55.03 

7.62 
21.59 
70.79 


Stalk. 

21.87 

6.18 
13.28 
80.54 


Root. 


Leaf. 
7.62 

4.37 

5.74 
5.43 
0.96 
0.50 
1.94 
73.44 


Stalk. 


Root. 


Percent, of parts of plant, 
100 lbs. each part contains 
Water 


23.10 

6.22 

8.14 

85.64 


6.18 

3.17 

5.02 
2.22 
0.59 
0.65 
0.66 
81.51 


6.22 


Ash 












Total 


100.00 


100.00 


100.00 










4.37 

26.60 
25.21 
4.43 
2.33 
9.01 
32.42 
100.00 


3.17 

37.78 
16.81 
4.44 
4.79 
4.92 
31.26 
100.00 


1.88 

22.07 
15.95 
2.54 

34.98 
21.96 


1.88 


100 lbs. of the ash contains 
Potash 


1.78 




1.28 




0.21 




0.21 




2.88 




85.54 






Total 


100.00 


100.00 


100.00 


100.00 















Analyses of seed of ten varieties of Virginia tobacco show that the 
air-dried seed contains 5J to 6 per cent of water, of nitrogen 3.44 to 
3.78 per cent, and of ash 3 to 4 per cent- Of the ash, about one-third is 
pliosphoric acid, one-third potash and one-fifth magnesia. The ash of 
the seed contains over ten times as much phosphoric acid, about four 
times as much magnesia and nearly one-fourth more potash than the 
ash of tobacco leaf. 

Analyses of the whole plant, — root, stem and leaf,— at three stages 
of growth, calculated from the average results for three leading vari- 
eties (White Biiiiey, Medley Pryor and Yellow Orinoco) show that 
their composition at these three stages is alike only in nitrogen, soda 

485 



486 



TOBACCO LEAP. 



and magnesia. As woiiM be, <!Xi)e.<;l(!fl, llio ]>]a7il, from ilie i))ant, lje<l 
lias the lii(;)i(;st in^nMiiHa^c, of iiioisl iirc. II. also sliows Mic liinln'st, ash, 
l)li<)S])liori(; acid ami i)olaHli. These last two iiinr<!<li<;iits gradually 
diminish as the age, of the i)laiil. infu-eases, thus showinf^ that the 
yonnjj; x^'^'it' requires a large amount of ])utash and ])hosx>horie aeid. 
The pereentag(!S of lime and chlorine are just the reverse of the phos- 
phoric acid and potasli, as they increase with tiie age of the plant. 
The percentage of the insolultie matter is comparatively small in the 
plant from tin; ]>laiit IxmI, and is only about ont;-foiirth as niucli as at 
the t iine of to|>piiig and (;nl ling. It appears that the plant taken from 
tlie plant bed contains, in the air-dri<,'d state, nearly three jM-r cent of 
nitrogen, ncsarly 1 per cent of phosi)ti<jric aciil, overs p(!r cent of pot- 
ash and about 'JJ percent of lime. Taken at the time of topping, it 
contains about ;! per cent of nitrogen, one-third of 1 per cent, of i)hos- 
phoric acid, about 4 percent of p(jtash and over 2 per cent of lime. 
Taken at time of cutting, it contains nearly three per cent of nitrogtm, 
one-third of 1 per cent of phosphoric acid, nearly 3J per cent of potash 
and over .'ii per cent of lime. 

F. <i. Carpenter has also done much analytical work at the North 
Carolina experiment stal ion, so have Jolinson and .h^iikins at the Con- 
necticut station, Goessman at Amherst, Frear at the I'ennsylvaida 
station, and otliers at the experiment stations of Keid,ucky, Tennessee, 
Louisiana, Alabama and Wisconsin. All this work is bringing out 
much valuabh; data in addition to the chemical inquiries into U>]>iicco, 
conducted by Dr. Gideon E. Moore for the tenth census, I rrnn which 
the following table is compiled : 



Table X.— AVEBAGB COMPOSITION OF CIGAR LEAF (POLE CURED). 











.S2 






















^ V 


















0^ 


'H "^ 


0<i 












a 






o 




p. 

2 


aj 


IK 

c 


CJ 


ei 


< 






5 


'^ 




a 


eS 


O 


o 


o 


4^ 




0.14 


1..V. 


eft 
1.00 


0.50 


>-l 

5.71 


TlM 


.5.79 


Vj 


H 


j^ 


Av. 12 Conn, crops.. 
New Milford, Cti... 


0.33 


10..05 


4.24 


0.21 


0.3.'t 


0.02 


0.4H 


0.10 


1.71 


5.20 


trace 


15.10 


4.97 


Hartford, Ct 


0.20 


2.14 


o.t;2 


0.01 


5.3;i 


1.40 


7.00 


0.05 


1K..5(I 


4.10 


i'a., Lancaster Co.. 


0.1!) 


0.27 


0.47 


i.o;i 


5.13 


1.47 


H.92 


O.Oli 


17.9K 


2.70 


Ohio 


0.44 


0.22 


0.40 


0.01 


4.03 


2.40 


4.75 


0.04 


14.22 


4.42 


New \()rk 


0.75 


0.05 


0.50 


0..50 


(i.OO 


l.:i3 


5.13 


0.00 


15.50 


4..59 


Wis. and 111 


0.72 
0.35 


0.15 

T)7i(i 


0.(>0 
O.lrl 


0.4« 
0.t!2 


5.17 


1.94 
l.(i7 


5.97 


0.17 
0.10 


15..52 
10.19 


5 2.'! 






Average 


5.50 


G.20 


4.12 



Omitting from the above the percentage of nitrogen In Peimsyl- 
vania s(!edleaf, which is exceptionally low, the average of the other 
samples gives 4.44 per cent of nitrogen In pole-cured tobacco leaves. 



Table XI.— THK amkimcan top.acco crop. 

The United States crop of 1849 was returned by the censtis at 
199,7.53,000 pounds, and of 1859 at 434,209,000. The census for 1KG9 was 
inconiplel*! ill tin; South, and, esi)e(Mally in North Candina, h;is been 
imperre<-,l since. Tliat State was credited with only 30,000,000 
pounds in 18»9 by the 11th census. "NV. W. AVood's elaborate inquiries 



APPENDIX. 



487 



sliow it l.o li.ave beon 7(i,000,0{)0. Tlio census fifitires are used lielow, 
ex<!epli tliiil, Amer'wiin AfiriculluriM's returns for 18'.»r) are y;iven. Weiglits 
are in tliou.siincls of pounds, last, tliree ligures (OOO's) omitted. 



THK AMKUICAN TOliACCO CHOP. 



Tobacco bv States. 



North Atlantic Division. . 

Maine 

New Manipsliire 

V(!rniont 

Massacliusetls 

Kliode Island 

Conne(;ti(Hit 

New York 

New Jersey 

Pennsylvania 

South AtldMtic JJivinlon. ■ 

Delaware 

Maryland 

District of Coluniliia.. 

Virginia 

West Virginia 

Nortli ('arolina 

South Carolina 

Georgia 

Florida 

North Central Division,. . . 

Ohio 

Indiana 

Illinois 

Michigan 

Wisconsin 

Minnesota 

Iowa 

Missouri 

North Dakota 

South Dakota 

Nebraska 

Kansas 

SoiUh Central Division... 

Kentu<rky 

Tenncjssee 

Alabama 

Mississippi , 

Louisiana 

Texas 

Oklahoma 

Arkansas 

Western Division 

Montana 

Wyoming 

(Colorado 

New Mexico 

Arizona 

Utah 

Nevada 

Idaho 

Washington 

Oregon 

California 

United States 



Number of Acres. 



1895. 
36,253 

54 

2,8(i.i 

«,()77 



1!),4:!!) 
'210,X44 

19,!)r)0 

!»7,f;r)4 

4,4(KI 

ll!r),H40 

r>()(i 
1, ()()(» 
i,r)0(t 

4(),4(H 

(i.lHf) 

;i,4<i(i 

ii,:iHi 
f)(t 

150 

r^,45() 



150 
.■{.'i7,<i73 

•2H«,ii(; 

45,007 
HOO 
500 
150 
500 



2,000 
80 



:i0 

20 
50 
009,102 



1889. 



44,080 
1 

57 

50 

2,012 

(!,:«1 

8,02i» 

45 

20, 055 

2:f4,!)81 

20 

20,274 

110,57!) 

4,047 

!I7,077 

:i'.)4 

800 

1,1!)0 

80,787 

44,;to;i 
9,:i7;i 

4,155 

17,241 

4!) 

1'24 

ll,;i50 

i 

I2;i 

.329.;{79 

274,587 

51.471 

<;7'.l 

2:i4 

109 
423 

1,87(1 
72 



095,301 



1879. 

44,854 

1 

88 

84 

3,:{58 

2 

8,(>0(> 

4,!):i7 

152 

27. 5(10 

141,480 

4 

:i8,i74 

40,791 

4,071 

57,208 

109 

<<71 

90 

78,0:i8 

;!4,O70 

11,955 

5,012 

170 

8,810 

lo;i 

092 
15,521 



101 

XV.', 

274,;i22 

220,120 

41,5:i2 

2,197 

1,471 

253 

085 

2,004 
147 



43 

84 

174,173 



W<'iglit of crop. 

In tli(>UMiri<lK ol' poundK, liiKt thr 
cililicrH iiiiiittcd. 



95 

170 

4,5.50 

14,007 
7,207 

18,778 
92,297 

14,902 

.'!9,9;!9 

1,700 

94,:i30 

200 

.350 

730 

40,370 

2.3,433 

4,3.30 

2,214 

15 

9,958 

.30 

90 

0,225 



252,001 

210,08-; 

:U,889 

.320 

200 

(iO 

250 

800 



IH 

14 

40 

490,278 



1889. 
50,133 



71 
2,795 

8,875 

9,310 

.3.3 

28,9.50 

100,844 

30 

12,3.57 

2.3 

48,523 

2,002 

.30,375 

22.3 

204 

47(( 

77,004 

37,8.54 

7,710 

3,043 

12 

19,.389 

2.3 

74 

9,425 

1 

10 

11 

02 

2.59,051 

221,880 

3(i,.308 

lt;3 

02 

47 

170 

9.55 



13 

488,257 



187i>. 
"03,313 

171 
131 

5,.30i» 

1 

14,045 

0,481 

172 

.30,94.3 

13(i,0.51 

1 

2(i,082 

1 

7!l,989 

2,290 

20,980 

4t> 

229 

21 

70,994 

:t4,7.35 

8,87.3 

3.9.30 

84 

10,()08 

70 

420 

12,01(; 



58 

192 

202,000 

171,121 

2!),.305 

4.52 

415 

5(i 

221 

970 
101 



17 

7.3 

110,131 



18()i». 

21,730 

15 

1.55 

73 

7,313 

1 

8,.329 

2,350 

41 

3,4(i8 

00,548 

15,785 

.37,080 

2,04(i 

11,150 

.35 

289 

157 

4fi,721 

18,742 

9,.325 

5,249 

5 

901 

8 

72 

12,.320 



C 

.33 

125,0.50 

10.3,.300 

21,405 

1.5.3 

01 

Ki 

m 

595 

81 

1 

1 



2 
4 

202,7.35 



488 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



Table XII.— GROWTH of tobacco MANUFACTUKING IN EACH STATE. 



Alabama 

Arkansas , 

Califoniia 

Colorado , 

Coiiiieciicut 

Florida 

Georgia 

Illinois 

Indiana 

Iowa 

Kansas 

Kentucky 

Louisiana 

Maryland 

Massachusetts . . 

Michigan 

Minnesota.. .... . 

Missouri 

Montana 

Nebraska 

New Hampshire. 

New Jersey 

New Mexico 

New York 

North Carolina. . 

Ohio 

Oregon 

Pennsylvania . . . 
South "Carolina. . 

Tennessee 

Texas 

Virginia 

West Virginia.. . 
"Wisconsin 



Total 28,173 



a Cigar 
factories 



1894 



61 

43 

602 

216 

434 

400 

73 

2,256 

794 

596 

308 

295 

177 

875 

699 

1,123 

394 

878 

77 

342 

160 

1,077 

10 

6,847 

42 

2,028 

164 

5,661 

13 

67 

127 

241 

138 

955 



1886 



33 

22 
383 
100 
311 
194 

39 
1,454 
495 
305 
203 
273 
139 
815 
585 
670 
218 
721 

13 
189 

41 

868 

2 

5,155 

26 
1,691 

29 
4,887 

21 

36 

53 
168 
115 
596 



21,053 



Millions of 
cigars made. 



1894 



5.3 

1.6 

66.5 

10.9 

38.7 

147.8 
4.5 

247.8 
63.7 
66.9 
20.4 
42.0 
66.2 
90.9 

106.5 

106.3 
39.3 
65.4 
3.7 
20.5 
16.5 
68.5 

1,044.3 

7.0 

406.4 

6.8 

1,149.9 

4.4 

9.3 

86.8 

63.7 

83.9 



4.1 

2.3 
127.4 
8.7 
34.8 
92.6 
2.0 
181.3 
42.7 
42.3 
17.9 
29.6 
43.6 
97.5 
97.3 
87.4 
30.8 
59.5 

18.2 
3.2 
67.4 

1,085.9 

2.1 

277.1 

1.2 

847.9 

1.1 

3.5 

4.6 

24.8 

41.7 

60.1 



4,163.0 3,462.0 



a No. of 
factories. 



24 
18 
60 
11 
20 

348 
92 

102 
45 

147 
67 
36 
29 

144 
87 
92 
17 
64 
8 
74 
5 

371 

253 

238 
21 

355 

4 

63 

28 

134 
31 
79 



3,080 971 



99 
211 
40 

37 

1 

42 

2 

197 

12 



6 Product 
mil'n's lbs. 



11.9 



26.3 

1.3 

10.5 

17.0 

7.6 



24.9 

17.9 

24.7 
19.3 

6.9 

2.6 

36.3 
3.6 
6.3 



268.6 



8.1 



15.2 
2.0 
7.1 

9.7 

34.5 



30.2 

16.9 

18.1 
14.0 

3.2 

1.4 

39.3 
5.4 



210.4 



aEach account with the internal revenue department is here con- 
sidered as a factory. As a matter of fact, there may be several ac- 
counts in the same building. Hence the discrepancy between these 
figures and those of the federal census, which last represent different 
establishments. 

b Product of manufactured tobacco. 



Cigarettes : Total production in 1886 was 1607 millions, in 1894 was 
3621 millions, divided between the States of principal production thus: 
Louisiana, 12 millions in '86 against 158 millions in '94; Maryland, 119 
to 36; New York, 929 to 1838; North Carolina, 262 to 737, and Virginia's 
product of 273 million cigarettes in '86 increased to 823 millions in '94. 

Pl}(<j Tobacco: Total product in 1886 was 131 million jiounds, which 
for '94 had increased to 160 millions by leading Stiites as follows : Ken- 
tucky, 13 million iiounds in '86 and 22 millions in '94; Missouri 30 to 52; 
New Jersey, 18 to 12; Ne-w York, 4 to 3; North Carolina. 10 to 17; Ohio, 
to 15; wli'ile Virginia's plug tobacco output of 3S million pounds in 
'86 dropped to 31 millions eight years later. 

Fine Cut: Production in 1886 was 17 million pounds and only 14 
millions in '94, as follows: Illinois, 1.6 to 2.1; Michigan, to 4; New 
Jersey, 5 to 3; and New York dropped from 3.3 to 2.3 million pounds. 



APPENDIX. 



489 



Smokinff Tobaccos'. Total product jumped from 55 million pounds in 
'86, to over 83 inillioiisi in '94, being from the principal States: Illi- 
nois, 4.9 to S.G; Kentucky, to 3.7; Louisiana, to 1.3: Maryland, 6.3 to 
9.3; Michigan, 5.8 to 8.2; Mis.souri, 4.5 to 5.6; New Jersey, 4.9 to 5.1; New 
York, 9.6 to 12.6; Nortli Carolina, 4.7 to 7.1; Ohio 2.6 to 3.9; Pennsylva- 
nia, stationary at 3; Wisconsin, 4.7 to 5.5; while Virginia and West 
"Virginia, whicli manufactured no smoking tobacco in '86, reported 
4.1 and 3.6 million pounds respectively for 1894. 

Siiiiff: Product for 1886 was 6,547,000 pounds against 11,583,000 
pounds in 1894. In the latter year, the principal Stales that producing 
snuff were: New Jersey, 4,920,000 ijounds; Peunsylvania, 3,822,000 
pounds; Tennessee, 965,000; Virginia, 726,000; Maryland, 493,000; Illi- 
nois, 347,000 pounds. In 1886, the principal snuff-producing States 
were : Delaware , 2,284,000 and New Jersey, 2,500,000 pounds. 

Prices in Home and Foreign Markets. 

Table XIII.— CIGAK LEAF AT NEW YORK CITY. 

This table gives tlie average wholesale quotations in January and 
October, at New York city, for the best grade of domestic tobacco used 
for filling cigars. Also the same for best grades of domestic wrapper 
leaf. The growths of Connecticut, New York State, Pennsylvania and 
Ohio are separately stated, as their qualities are usually quite differ- 
ent. From 1850 to 1857, Connecticut wrappers sold lor 10 to 20 cents per 
pound at New York city. Thence to 1860 tlie price was 10 to 40 cents. 
Twenty and 25 cents was the top price until 1863, when the boom 
began that culminated a year later. 

[Quotations are in cents per pound.] 





Cigar fillers. 


Cigar wrappers. 




Conn. 


N. 


Y. 


Conn. 


N. 


Y. 


Pen 11. 


Oh 


io. 




Jan. 


Oct. 


Jan. 

.18 


Oct. 

.25 


Jan. 


Oct- 


Jan. 


Oct. 


Jan. 


Oct. 

.45 


Jan. 
.30 


Oct. 


1864 


.20 


.35 


.45 


.65 


.30 


.45 


.30 


.45 


1865 


.35 


.09 


.25 


.09 


65 


.40 


.45 


.40 


.45 


.20 


.45 


.20 


1866 


.09 


.09 


.09 


.09 


45 


.45 


.45 


.45 


.20 


.20 


.20 


.20 


1868 


.08 


.08 


.06 


.07 


45 


.55 


.16 




.32 


.35 


.45 





1870 


.18 


.20 


.13 


.14 


50 


..50 


.50 


..55 


..55 


.50 


..55 


..35 


1872 


.14 


.15 


.16 


.16 


.35 


.30 


..50 


— 


.45 


.40 


.45 


.40 


1873 


.14 


.15 


.10 


.09 


.30 


.45 


..32 


.30 


.30 


.60 


..30 


.60 


1874 


.15 


.07 


.09 


.07 


■45 


.30 


.25 


.25 


.60 


.40 


.60 


.40 


1875 


.12 


.08 


.08 


— 


■30 


.20 


.25 


— 


.40 


.35 


— 





1876 


.08 


.08 


— 


— 


20 


.30 


— 


— 


.35 


.25 


— 





1878 


.07 


.08 


.12 


— 


'25 


.28 


— 


— 


.50 


.35 


— 


— 


1881 


.07 


— 


— 


— 


■35 


.35 


.15 


.15 


.45 


.45 


.25 


.16 


1882 


.14 


.12 


.06 


.06 


•23 


.22 


— 


— 


.43 


.43 


.20 


.14 


1883 


.15 


.14 


.05 


.06 


•4:^ 


.40 


— 


— 


.43 


..35 


.14 


.20 


1884 


.14 


.14 


.06 


.07 


•40 


.35 


— 





.35 


.25 


.20 


.25 


1885 


.13 


.12 


.06 


.05 


•.■50 


..30 


— 


— 


.23 


.23 








1886 


.12 


.12 


.05 


.05 


•.30 


.30 


— 


— 


.23 


.23 


— 





1887 


.18 


.15 


.05 


.0(i 


•28 


..33 


— 


— 


.23 


.25 








1888 


.15 


.15 


.06 


.06 


-.33 


.33 


— 


— 


.25 


.25 





. 


1889 


.15 


.14 


•06 


.06 


•33 


..33 


— 





.25 


..33 


.18 


.18 


1890 


.14 


.14 


.06 


.06 


•33 


.33 


— 


— 


.33 


.33 


.18 


.18 


1891 


.14 


— 


.06 




.33 


— 


— 


— 


.33 


— 


.18 


— 



490 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



Table XIV.— COMPARATIVE KELATIVE I'KICES OF TOBACCO LEAP. 

Ill tliis table, 100 is tlie basis of values, or the index luimber. It 
represents the average wholesale price of leaf tobacco tor the year 
1860. For the United States, this average is based on the mean whole- 
sale quotation for the year, of all grades of leaf in the New York city 
and Cincinnati markets. For London, it is the average of the whole- 
sale quotations on Virginia leaf. For Hamburg, it is the average of 
wholesale prices on both imported and the German-grown leaf. To 
compare the fluctuations in tobacco values, we add the index num- 
bers for the United States only, of wheat, cotton, wool, and the gen- 
eral average for all farm products. Average comparative prices for 
the first six months '96 are given, as compiled by American Agriculturist. 



II 







Tobacco 






Other Produce. 






United 


Eng- 


Ham- 


Wheat. 


Wool. 


Cotton. 


General 




States. 


land. 


burg. 


U. S. 


U. S. 


U. S. 


Av. 


1860 


100 


100 


100 


100 


100 


100 


100 


1861 


95 


99 


113 


92 


81 


199 


92 


1862 


187 


126 


120 


87 


100 


523 


132 


1863 


178 


215 


94 


101 


157 


782 


177 


1864 


200 


215 


94 


116 


184 


1119 


260 


1865 


126 





79 


141 


171 


453 


195 


1866 


108 


120 


73 


116 


133 


365 


172 


1867 


138 


133 


81 


213 


111 


199 


171 


1868 


167 


1.33 


85 


193 


93 


247 


173 


1869 


168 


111 


97 


119 


97 


254 


162 


1870 


158 


111 


94 


85 


93 


1.56 


147 


1871 


188 


104 


97 


118 


110 


183 


130 


1872 


181 


126 


114 


119 


154 


173 


129 


1873 


216 


130 


103 


1,30 


119 


170 


133 


1874 


180 


122 


103 


122 


115 


143 


138 


1875 


161 


170 


99 


95 


107 


121 


126 


1876 


146 


170 


103 


101 


90 


102 


115 


1877 


149 


141 


93 


117 


91 


103 


111 


1878 


137 


120 


93 


107 


81 


99 


99 


1879 


119 


104 


88 


84 


76 


96 


98 


1880 


138 


119 


94 


112 


109 


106 


110 


1881 


134 


107 


91 


93 


98 


109 


121 


1882 


141 


156 


81 


116 


95 


106 


114 


1883 


138 


163 


79 


88 


90 


98 


100 


1884 


1.53 


141 


86 


84 


81 


94 


105 


1885 


122 


1.52 


87 


71 


72 


93 


94 


1886 


100 


137 


88 


74 


76 


88 


97 


1887 


123 


133 


80 


74 


79 


88 


95 


1888 


111 


163 


79 


71 


72 


97 


96 


1889 


122 


148 


86 


86 


80 


101 


91 


1890 


130 


148 


91 


71 


78 


96 


97 


1891 


140 


163 


85 


88 


75 


80 


97 


1896 


84 


? 


*91 


53 


45 


? 


57 



♦Average for 12 months, 1895, specially furnished for this work by 
the Hanilnirg statistical bureau. It also reports wheat averaging, for 
1895, the equivalent of 69 cents per bushel, U. S. currency, against $1.20 
at Hamburg, for 1891 ; the relative value of wheat being 82 for the year 
1891, and only 46 for the year 1895. 



APPENDIX. 



491 



Table XV.— COMPARATIVE MAKKKT PRICKS OF LEAF — TOBACCO IN 
HOME ANI» FORKION MARKETS. 

This table shows the average wholesale quotation of the best 
grades of Kentucky leaf at New York city in January, and again in 
October. The same facts are given for Virginia leaf on the London 
market in January and July. Tlie yearly average wholesale price of 
all leaf tobacco at Hamburg, Germany, is then given. Also the aver- 
age value per pound of the leaf tobacco exported each year from the 
United States. 





Kentucky leaf at 


Virginia leaf in 


All leaf at 


Av. value 




New York. 


London. 


Hamburg. 


leaf exp. 
from U. S. 




Jan. 


Oct. 


Jan. 


July. 


Av.per yr. 


1840 


17 


11 






1845 


6 


8 










1850 


10 


11 










1851 


13 


10 


20 


20 


12 




1853 


9 


10 


14 


15 


12 




1857 


12 


13 


22 


22 


17 




1860 


14 


13 


17 


16 


16 




1862 


16 


25 


22 


24 


19 




1863 


30 


27 


30 


30 


15 




1864 


30 


38 


.30 


30 


15 




1865 


40 


30 





24 


12 




1866 


30 


24 


24 


24 


11 


15.4 


1867 


12 


14 


22 


22 


13 


10.6 


1868 


15 


14 


22 


22 


13 


11.1 


1869 


13 


13 


20 


20 


15 


11.3 


1870 


12 


14 


20 


18 


15 


11.4 


1871 


9 


11 


16 


16 


15 


9.2 


1872 


11 


12 


21 


22 


18 


10.3 


1873 


12 


11 


22 


22 


16 


10.7 


1874 


10 


16 


22 


24 


16 


9.6 


1875 


16 


15 


35 


35 


15 


11.3 


1876 


13 


13 


35 


37 


16 


10.4 


1877 


12 


10 


28 


24 


15 


10.2 


1878 


10 


9 


24 


24 


15 


8.7 


1879 


8 





20 


20 


14 


7.8 


1880 


9 


y 


23 


23 


15 


7.7 


1881 


10 


12 


20 


20 


14 


8.3 


1882 


12 


11 


30 


35 


13 


8.5 


1883 


11 


11 


35 


30 


12 


8.3 


1884 


11 


11 


30 


30 


13 


9.1 


1885 


11 


11 


30 


30 


14 


9.9 


1886 


11 


10 


27 


28 


14 


9.6 


1887 


10 


11 


26 


28 


12 


8.7 


1888 


11 


11 


32 


32 


12 


8.3 


1889 


11 


10 


32 


32 


13 


8.8 


1890 


10 


10 


32 


37 


14 


8.0 


1891 


10 





37 


37 


13 


8.8 


1892 






37 


37 


— 


8.4 


1893 






35 


— 


— 





Table XVI.— PRICES AT INTERIOR MARKETS. 

Cincinnati, Ohio, is one of the oldest tobacco markets in the inte- 
rior, and is a distributing point for immense quantities of leaf, grown 
in the central portions of the United St.-ites. Its quotations are avail- 
able since 1853, and are put on record here to show tlie fluctuations in 
prices at interior markets. There are four leading grades «.f the 
varieties used for manufactured tobacco, but the "average" quality 
and the "fine" or best grades only, are quoted. The average quota- 



492 



TOBACCO LEAF. 



tioii for the best quality of each grade is given for January and again 
for October. Under "lugs," is given a similar quotation for common 
to good leaf, used for this purpose. Quotations for the fillers grown in 
that region for plugs and for cigars are also given. 

[Quotations in dollars and cents for 100 pounds.] 





Manufacturing Tobaccos. 


Filler Leaf. 




Average. 


Fine. 


Lugs. 


PI 


'g- 


Cigar. 




Jan. 


Oct. 


Jan. 


Oct. 


Jan. 


Oct. 


Jan. 


Oct. 


Jan. 


Oct. 


1853 


$4.81 


$6.00 


$7.00 


$9.50 


$4.50 


$5.00 










1857 


10.13 


11.46 


14.75 


17.00 


9.00 


10.00 










1862 


9.25 


14.13 


13.50 


20.00 


8.00 


13.00 










1863 


15.38 


14.00 


24.00 


22.50 


14.00 


10.50 






$13.50 


$9.00 


1864 


16.25 


13.75 


24.00 


22.50 


14.00 


10.50 






11.00 


6.75 


1865 


16.66 


15.33 


32.50 


37.,50 


10.25 


6.13 


$13.06 


$17.68 


6.75 


3.50 


1866 


15.13 


13.50 


27.50 


22.50 


9.00 


7.75 


13.43 


11.31 


3.00 


3.00 


1867 


13.41 


10.58 


22.50 


18.50 


8.00 


6.00 


10.93 


8.87 


3.00 


2.50 


1808 


12.50 


13.78 


22.50 


22.50 


7.00 


8.25 


10.93 


11.88 


2.50 


5.50 


1869 


12.70 


10.95 


21.50 


19.00 


8.25 


7.00 


8.93 


9.13 


5.50 


6.00 


1870 


11.20 


10.22 


17.00 


22.50 


8.25 


4.50 


8.93 


9.81 


11.50 


5.00 


1871 


10.04 


14.66 


17.50 


27.50 


7.09 


9.00 


10.00 


12.88 


8.75 


8.75 


1872 


15.00 


13.31 


26.50 


24.00 


9.50 


9.00 


13.18 


12.36 


6.25 


9.00 


1873 


16.31 


16.33 


26.00 


27.00 


11.00 


11.75 


14.56 


14.56 


9.25 


11.00 


1874 


10.75 


20.58 


16.50 


34.00 


7.00 


13.50 


9.50 


16.13 


7.00 


8.50 


1875 


21.75 


19.95 


35.00 


34.50 


15.75 


12.50 


18.18 


16.63 


8..50 


7.50 


1876 


17.14 


13.00 


27. .50 


23.00 


10.38 


8.00 


13.81 


13.18 


7.50 


6.50 


1877 


13.06 


13.06 


23.00 


23.00 


8.00 


8.00 


12.28 


12.28 


5.50 


5.50 


1878 


11.20 


12.66 


18.00 


22.50 


7.25 


7.75 


10.90 


12.21 


5.50 


5.50 


1879 


14.62 


12.01 


25.00 


20.00 


8.25 


8.00 


12.09 


11.25 


6.50 


6.00 


1880 


13.91 


13.35 


22.00 


23.50 


10.00 


8.50 


9.96 


9.53 


4.50 


5.50 


1881 


13.81 


16.79 


23.50 


30.00 


9.25 


10.00 


11.15 


13.25 


6.50 


5.00 


1882 


19.20 


15.50 


30.00 


27.00 


14.75 


11.75 


12.93 


10.75 


5.00 


4.50 


1883 


13.93 


15.33 


23.00 


25.50 


12.25 


12.00 


9.71 


10.84 


5.50 


5.00 


1884 


16.00 


11.89 


25.00 


18.00 


12.00 


8.88 


11.70 


9.90 


5.50 




1885 


11.00 


9.20 


18.50 


15.75 


8.12 


6.88 


10.15 


9.00 


6.00 


4.50 


1886 


10.75 


7.25 


19.50 


13.50 


7.12 


5.00 


10.00 


6.53 


5.00 


3.50 


1887 


7.83 


17.91 


15.00 


28.75 


5.00 


11.00 


6.40 


15.18 


4.75 


4.50 


1888 


19.20 


14.83 


26.50 


22.50 


14.00 


11.50 


17.50 


12.50 


4.50 


5.00 


1889 


17.08 


17.45 


24.00 


26.00 


12.25 


12.25 


15.18 


11.87 


5.00 


5.00 


1890 


14.66 


14.67 


24.00 


23.50 


9.25 


9.75 


13.00 


12.62 


5.00 


5.00 


1891 


13.64 


13.83 


23.50 


24.50 


8.75 


8.00 


11.71 


12.87 


6.50 


9.25 


1892* 


7.63 


11.56 


14.70 


20.75 


5.10 


7.30 


11.16 


13.40 






1893# 


11.72 


9.25 


17.06 


14.69 


8.72 


6.00 


13.73 


11..50 






1894* 


9.06 


8.25 


13.00 


14.22 


5.10 


5.50 


10.20 


10.60 






1895» 


7.68 


8.63 


12.94 


14.22 


4.53 


5.45 


10.33 


10.65 






1890» 


8.25 




15.50 




4.15 




10.90 









*Fiirnished by Western Tobacco Journal. It reports total sales at 
Cincinnati of White lUirlev ;is follows: 1892, 109,612 liogslieads at an 
average of ^7.38 per 100 po'unds of leaf; '93, 79,886 hogslieads at $9.75; 
'94, 104,010 liogsl>eads at .'$7.81; '95, 103,198 liogslieads at, $6.65; '90, from 
January 1 to August 15, 63,935 liogslieads, at an average of $5.18. 



Table XVII. 



-CONSUMPTION AND TAXATION OF TOBACCO IN THE 
UNITED STATES. 



[Compiled from reports of U. S. Commission of Internal Revenue.] 
This table gives in column No. 1 the millions of pounds of leaf 
tobacco manufactured into ping, smoking, fine cut, snuff, etc., each 
year. Column No. 2 shows the millions of cigars made each year ; 



APPENDIX. 



493 



No. 3, TTiillions of cigarettes ; while column 4 gives tlie total miniber of 
both cigars and cigarettes made each year. Column 5 shows tlie 
pounds of leaf tobacco used in making cigars and cigarettes during 
the calender year ended December 31 ; and the other data are lor 
fiscal year ended June 30. Under " Internal Revenue Taxation," is 
first given tlie average tax (in cents per pound) paid on manufactured 
tobacco in each year, then the amount of revenue collecied from this 
source, also the amount collected from the internal revenue taxes on 
cigars and cigarettes. The next column shows the total internal rev- 
enue receipts each year from tobacco, this total including not only 
taxes on manufacturers and on cigars and cigarettes, but also fees for 
licenses to dealers and manufacturers, and minor items. Import 
duties paid each year on tobacco imported for consumption are next 
shown, and the last column of all gives the aggregate ol government's 
receipts from all sources pertaining to tobacco. The notes following 
the table give particulars about internal revenue taxes on cigars and 
cigarettes, and also about the duties on imported tobacco. 





Consumption. | 


Internal rev. tax. | 


-Cm 


CO 




o 


S^os. 


n millions. | 




_ "? 


Millions dols. | 














5S 








2| 


n 


Y'KS. 


3c 


s 




rt 




T ^^ 






rt 


m - 


o o 
ci ^ 
9 .0 




5~ 


M 


M 


o 




'5 i 


eS 


bj) 


o 


M 




S £ 


199 


JJ__ 


199 


f-J 


psa 


2.6 


s 


H 


tf 


< 


18li3 


23.8 


? m S 


11 


0.5 


3,098 






1864 


64.5 


492 


— 


^02 


11 


7.3 


1.2 


8,592 






1865 


37.6 


693 


20 


713 


tH -^ 


22 


8.3 


3.0 


11,401 






1866 


37.4 


347 


— 


347 




35 


13.0 


3.4 


16,531 






1867 


47.6 


106 


378 


484 


_a. g « 


34 


16.0 


3.6 


19,765 






1868 


4(5.7 


. 


.590 


.590 


g=l' 


■■a. 


15.0 


2.9 


18,730 






1869 


64.3 


991 


2 


993 


27 


17.3 


4.9 


23,431 






1870 


90.2 


1,139 


14 


1,153 


liS^ 


27 


24.3 


5.7 


31,351 






1871 


95.1 


1,314 


19 


1,.333 


•§s-s-§ 


27 


25.5 


6.5 


33,579 






187'2 


95.2 


1,507 


21 


1,.528 


•w u C 


26 


24.5 


T.5 


33,736 






1873 


114.7 


1,780 


27 


1,807 


o^"? O 


20 


23.3 


8.9 


34.386 






1874 


107.7 


1,858 


29 


1,HS7 


20 


21.9 


9.3 


33,24:} 






1875 


119.4 


1,927 


41 


1,9()8 


•*~."^ " '^ 


21 


25.2 


10.2 


37,303 






1876 


110.3 


1,829 


77 


1,906 


5'5?'° 


24 


26.7 


11.1 


39,795 






1877 


116.1 


1,800 


149 


1,949 


«SS2 


24 


28.1 


11.0 


41,107 






1878 


108.8 


1,905 


165 


2,070 


S S Mo 


24 


26.3 


11.7 


40,092 






1879 


120.3 


2,019 


238 


2,257 


oz'Z-p, 


21 


25.6 


12.5 


40,135 






1880 


1.36.2 


2,368 


409 


2,777 


61.2 


16 


21.8 


14.9 


38,8'70 






1881 


147.0 


2,683 


567 


3,250 


66.4 


16 


23.5 


17.0 


42,855 






18H'2 


161.3 


3,041 


556 


3,.597 


73.6 


16 


25.8 


19.2 


47,392 






1883 


170.3 


3,228 


640 


3,868 


77.2 


13 


22.8 


17.8 


42,104 






1884 


174.1 


3,456 


908 


4,.364 


79.4 


8 


13.9 


10.8 


26,062 






1885 


180.7 


3,359 


1,05^ 


3,417 


76.7 


8 


14.4 


10.6 


26,407 


7,356 


33,763 


1886 


191.5 


3,511 


1.311 


4,822 


84.9 


8 


15.3 


11.1 


27,907 


8,311 


36,219 


1887 


206.4 


3,788 


1,584 


5,372 


82.9 


8 


16.5 


12.1 


30,108 


9,128 


39,235 


1888 


209.3 


3,845 


1,863 


5,708 


83.5 


8 


16.7 


12.4 


30,()62 


9,735 


40,.398 


1889 


221.5 


3,867 


2,152 


6,019 


83.5 


8 


17.7 


12.6 


31,867 


11,195 


43,061 


1890 


238.2 


4,088 


2,233 


6,321 


91.7 


8 


19.0 


13.3 


33,9.W 13,318 


47,276 


1891 


253.8 


4,475 


2,685 


7,160 


94.5 


7 


17.8 


14.7 


32,79(; 16,172 


4S,069 


1892 


265.1 


4,549 


2.893 


7,442 


100.8 


6 


15.9 


15.0 


31,00(1 i(i,2(;.'i 


41,266 


1893 


264.3 


4,814 


3,177 


7,991 


96.9 


6 


15.9 


16.0 


31,890 


14,832 


■i6,722 


1894 


247.1 


4,067 


3,183 


7,250 


89.9 


6 


14.8 


13.7 


28,618 


13,669 


42,286 


1895 


259.1 
4,725.6 


4,164 
82,369 


3,328 


7,492 
108,536 


*90.4 


6 


15.6 


14.1 


29,705 






Total 


30,417 


tl, 322.3 


13 av 


618,9 


349.2' 998,479 


1 



t Total for 16 years. * Partly estimated. 



494 - TOBACCO LEAF. 



The United States internal revenut tax for the two years ended June 
30, 1864, was $1.50 per thousand on cigars valued at not over $5 per M, 
increasing to $3.50 ou cigars valued at $20, an average of $2.37 per M 
oil cigars of all descriptions. After June 30, 1864, the tax was in- 
creased, for war purposes, to $3 per M, on cheroots and cigars valued 
at not over $5 per M ; valued at over $5 and not over $15 per M, $8 ; 
valued at $15 to $30, $15 per M ; valued at $30 to $45, $25 per M. Cigar- 
ettes valued at not over $6 per 100 packages of 25 each, $1 per 100 pack- 
ages ; valued above that sum, $3; cigarettes made wholly of tobacco, 
$3 per M. By the act of March 3, 1865, cigars, cheroots and cigarettes 
made wholly of tobacco, or any substitute therefor, were taxed $10 
per M, and cigarettes, valued at not over $5 per 100 packages of 25 
each, were taxed 5 cents per package, and if valued above that, 5 per 
cent. These war taxes were reduced by the act of July 13, 1866, and 
March 2, 1867, and again July 20, 1868. Under the latter act, cigars and 
cheroots of all descriptions were taxed .$5 per M ; cigarettes weighing 
not over 3 pounds per M, were taxed .11.50, and heavier than that, $5. 
These rates prevailed until March 3, 1875, when cigars and cheroots 
were taxed $6 per M and cigarettes iifl.75. These rates were again re- 
duced March 3, 1883, to $3 per M for cigars and cheroots of all descrip- 
tions and 50 cents for cigarettes weighing not over 3 pounds per M. 
These latter rates are still in effect. 

The tariff on tobacco imported into the linited States on leaf, or man- 
ufactured, was 6 cents per pound and on snuff 10 cents per pound 
from 1789 to 1794, when it was advanced to 10 and 12 cejits respec- 
tively, aiul remained there until 1846, except tliat it was 20 and 24 cents 
from 1812 to 1816. lu 1846, a tariff of 30 per cent ad valorem was im- 
posed ou leaf tol>ac('0, which was matle 24 per cent in '57 and 25 per 
cent in '01, but iu '62 was raised to 25 cents per pound, and in 1866 to 
35 cents per pound, continuing at that rate until 1874, when it was 
matle 30 per cent ad valorem. From 1866 to 1883, the duty on snuff and 
manufactured tobacco was 50 cents per pound. The import duty on 
cigars and cheroots was $2.50 per thousand until 1842, when tlie rate 
was fixed at 40 cents per pound, which was changed to 40 per cent ad 
valorem in 1846 and 30 per cent in '57, but in 1866-7 was $3 per pound 
and 50 per cent ad valorem. This was changed to $2.50 per pound, and 
25 per cent ad valorem, in 1868, and continued at that figure luitil 1883. 

The United States tariff of 1883 imposed a duty on cigar wrappers 
of 75 cents i)er ]iound, if unstemmed, and $1, if stemmed. Other to- 
bacco in leaf 35 cents per pound, stems 15 cents per pound, snuff or 
manufactured tobacco 50 cents, cigars, cheroots and cigarettes $2.50 per 
pound and 25 per cent ad valorem. Tliese rates Avere greatly changed 
by the McKinley act ot 1890, which imposed a duty of $2 per pound on 
cigar wrappers if not stemmed, and $2.75 if stemmed. Other leaf to- 
bacco 35 cents unstemmed and 50 cents stemmed; snuff, etc., 50 cents 
per pound; other manufactured tobacco 40 cents per pound; cigars, 
cigarettes and (Cheroots $4.50 per pomid, and 25 per cent ad valorem. 
Under the MMlson tariff of August 28, 1894, the rate on wrapper leaf was 
reduced to $1.50 per pound, or $2.26 if stemmed, on filler leaf 35 cents 
per poun<l and 50 cents if stemmed, other leaf 40 c^nts, cigars, cigar- 
ettes and cheroots $4 per pound and 25 per cent ad valorem, snuff 50 
cents, all otlier manufactured tobacco 40 cents per pound. The high 
duty on wrapper leaf, in the act of 1883, was evaded by the loose con- 
struction of tlie law; the act of '92 was ironclad in this respect, and 
the act of 1894 was very specific, and stood the test of the highest 
courts. The Dingley tariff of 1897 increases the duty on wrappers, 
and possibly on fillers, but makes no other changes in rates. 

Besides these duties, imported tobacco has to pay the same inter- 
nal revenue taxes that are imposed upon domestic tobaccos of like 
grade. 



Books on Tobacco Culture. 



The student is referred to the wondejrfully complete Bibllotheca 
ISficotiana, compiled by William P. R. Bragge, published at Birming- 
ham, England, in 1889. 

United States reports from the internal revenue and agricultural 
departments contain much on this subject. The Department ot 
State's consular reports, especially since 1880, give many reports on 
tobacco in other lands. Several of the State agricultural experiment 
stations have printed bulletins on the subject. 

References to works on tobacco, [dates of whose publication are 
lacking : Kissling, Tabakkunde ; Bere, Le Tabak ; Nessler, Der Tabak, 
seine Bestandtheile und seine Behandlung; flofmann. Die Culturdes 
Tabakes in Oesterreich; Nessler, Landwirthschaftliche Versuchsta- 
tionen ; Krafft, Lehrbuch der Landwirthschaft; Blomeyer, Die Culture 
der landwirthschaftliehen Nutzpliauzen. 

A CHRONOLOGICAL LIST OF WORKS ON TOBACCO. 

Neavder, J. Tabacologia. Lugduni-Batavorum, 1622 

Stella, B. II Tabacco. Rome, 1669 

Winther, P. Tobaks-plantning. Kjoebenhavn, 1773 

Carver, J. Culture of the Tobacco-plant. London, 1779 

Villeneuve. Culture, Fabrication et Vente du Tabac. Paris, 1791 

Tatliam, W. Culture and Commerce of Tobacco. London, 1800 

Becker, Jens Fr. Kort anviisning, til tabaks-plantning. Viborg, 1809 

Normann, J. E. Tobaksplantens, dyrkiiingi Norge. Christiania, 1811 

Canja, A. J. Tobac(!0. Habana, 1812 

Truchet, M. de. Culture du Tababac en France. Paris, 1816 
Watterson, Geo. A memoir on the history, culture, uses, etc., of 

the tobacco plant. Washington, 1817 

Flor, M. R. Om Tobakavl. Christiania, 1817 
Hernibstadt. Grlindliche Anweisung zur Cultur der Tabakpflan- 

zen. Berlin, 1822 
Brodigan, T. Art of Growing and Curing Tobacco in the British 

Isles. London, 1830 

Jennings, J. Practical Treatise on Tobacco. London, 1830 

Meller, H. J. Nicotiana. London, 1832 
France. Rapport sur la fabrication et la rente, exclusives du 

tabac. Paris, 1833 

Antz, K. C. Tabachi historia. Berolini, 1836 

Demersay, L. A. Du Tabac du Paraguay. Paris, 1851 
Babo, August., Baron Von and F. Hoffacker. Der Tobak und sein 

An ban. 1852 

Demoor, V. P. G. Culture du Tabac. Luxembourg, 1853 

Tiedemann, F. Geschichte des Tabaks. Frankfurt, 1854 

Steinmetz, A. Tobacco. London, 1857 

Fermond, C. Monographic dii Tabac. Paris, 1857 

Fairholt, Ered W. Tobacco. London, 1859 

Cooke, M. C. The Seven Sisters of Sleep. London, 1860 

L'Ange, H. Raibaud. Du Tabac en Provence. Pam, I860 

495 



496 TOBACCO LEAF. 



Cooke, John H. Tobacco. Richmond, 1860 

Ffevre, J.L. F. Le Tabac. Paris, 1863 

Guys, C. E. Culture of Latakia Tobacco. Technologist. London, 1863 
Maiing. Tobacco Trade and Cultivation of the district of Cavalla, 

Teclinolojiist. London, 1863 

Saxtoii, Clias. W. Handbook of Tobacco Culture. New York, 1863 
Coin, R. de. History and Cultivation of Cotton and Tobacco. 

London, 1864 

Holzschuher. DerTabaUbau. Gotha, 1864 

Henreick, B. A. Du Tabac. Paris, 18G6 

Co\irbeyre, A. Inibert. Lecons sur le Tabac. Clermont-Ferrand, 1866 
Jolmson, S. W. Tol)acco.— Report of Chemist to the Connecticut 

State Board of Agriculture. 1873 

Billings, E. R. Tobacco. Hartford, Ct., 1875 

Bee, A. de. Culture du Tabac en France. Aix, 1875 

AUart, F. A. Culture du Tabac. Abbeville, 1876 
Creighton, B. T. Culture of tobacco in Ohio. Pharmaceutical 

Journal: London, 1870 

Decobert, D. Culture du Tabac. Lille, 1876 

Hofacker und Babo. DerTabakbau. Berlin, 1876 

Nouvel, A. Le Tabac. Brive, 1876 

Nouvel, A. Notes sur la Culture des Tabacs. Paris, 1876 

Dunning, John. Tobacco. London, 1876 

Burton, R.E. Cultivation of Tobacco. Sugar Cane. Manchester, 1877 

Gilniore, E. H. History of Tobacco. Washington, 1878 
Cantoui, G. L'Industria del Tobacco. Annali di Agricoltura. 

Rome, 1879 
SchifTmayer, K. Tobacco and its Culture. Report of Agricultu- 
ral Department, Madras Presidency. Madras, 1879 
Alfonso, F. Tabacchi della Sicilia. Palermo, 1880 
Anderegg, F. Tabakbau in der Schweiz. Chur, 1880 
Comes, O. Tobacco in Italia. L'agricolt. meridionale. Portici, 1881 
Cameron, J. \). A sketch of the Tobacco Interests in North Car- 
olina. Oxford, 1881 
Van Gorkom, K. W. De Oost-Indische Cultures. Amsterdam, 1881 
Zimmermaun, J. H. Tabaksbaubiichlein. Aarau, 1881 
Killebrew, J. B. Report on the Culture and Curing of Tobacco, 

U. S. Census. Washington, 1883 
Clark, J. Composition of Tobacco. Journal Sac. Chem. Industry, 

Manchester, 1884 

Meyer, F. H. Havana cigars. Philadelphia, 1885 

Taylor, Philip M. Tobacco. London, 1886 

Lock, Chas. G. W. Tobacco. London, 1886 

Beale, Edw. J. English Tobacco Culture. London, 1887 

MacDonald, A. Le Tabac dans les Etats-Unis. Paris, 1889 

Popovici, M. Tutunul. Bucharest, 1896 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Andross, W. F xiii 

Assorting heavy sliipping 450 

Biilloon frame barn 198 

Barn for White Hurley. 180 

Bam frame 17C 

Basement Snow barn 188 

Basket for plants 151-357 

Box shop and printing ofBce .. 470 

Bud worm 225 

Bush for burning 109 

Carotte of I'erique tobacco 375 

Carr, S. P viii 

Carrying tobacco to marlcet.. . . 319 

Cigar leaf barn 180 

Clarlc, Lewis R vii 

Clarlc, M. H vii 

Connecticut liroadleaf . . .19, 23, 400 
Cross section cigar barn — 187 

Curing barn for yellow tobacco 182 

Curing Perique 372 

Ctitting heavy tobacco 298 

Development broom rape 250 

Diffendcrfer, F. R ix 

Draw twist 303 

Elevation Snow barn 189 

End of framed barn 174 

End of frame 178 

Factory for maviufacl iiriiig — 452 
Field destroyed by horn worms 239 
Field lieavyleaf ready to hang 300 
Field ready for transplanting. 162 

Five-tier, five-room Ijarn 185 

Five-tier, six-room Vjarn 184 

Flues in yellow tobacco barn.. 185 

Fort, Walter A xii 

Frye, H. S xii 

flarnian. Prof. H ix 

(lerman 203 

Greenville wareliouse 200 

Ground plan framed barn.! 175 

Growing Cuban tobacco 442 

Hanger for leaves 193, 3(50 

Hanging un wilted tobacco 420 

Hartliill, Alex xiii 

Harvesting Havana 410 

Harvesting Siimatran 43() 

Harvesting yellow 307 

Hauling Wh'ite Burlev to Iiarn. .341 

Havana seodleaf '.2S, 32, 378, 410 

Heavy slujiping. . .'>(;, 00, 292 

lleavv shiiiping t<)l)ac<!o on 

scaffold 303 

Heavy tobacco for shipment... 310 
Hoeing machine 413 

33 



Hook.s on latli 361 

Horizontal ventilators 217 

Inspecting and sampling 276 

Inspector d r a win g saini)les 

heavy leaf 208 

Interior Snow bjirn 190 

Irrigating tobacco 107 

Kentucky barns 170, 171 

Killel)rew, J. B il 

Leaf attacked by worm 253 

Leaf injured by red-legged 

grasshopi)ers. . ." 229 

Leaf room in plug factory 454 

Life size worm . .'. 250 

Log barn 172 

Making snuff 12 

Making spun roll tobacco 11 

Mason, Tliomas xi 

Metliod of fixing clotli 132 

Modern framed barn for heavy 

leaf 173 

Moodie, F. B viii 

Moths of cutworms 220 

Mound builders' pipes 10 

Moval)le frame for plant bed. . 120 

Myrick, Herbert il 

I^ortli Carolina warehouse 264 

Office in factory 480 

Onondaga tobacco barn 191 

Packing room in factory . ..470, 476 

Packing llie hands 311 

Patent ventilated Wisconsin 

barn 194 

Pennsylvania barn 192 

Pennsylvaida leaf in l)arn 426 

Pennsylvania seed l)e<l 121 

Pipes, "American Indians' 8 

Plant bed to shed water 115 

Plant bed frame with cloth 

cover 119 

Pole with hands of leaves on 

either side 365 

Poquonock experimental field 393 

Preliistoric pipe 9 

Plug factory 402 

Pressing cigar leaf into case. . . 429 

Press room in plug factory 460 

Pryor. Silky 64, 68 

Psy chrometer 21 1 

Removing cloth cover from l>cd 148 

Sale of shij>ping tobacco 272 

Sanderson, W. W xi v 

Screw press for prizing 308 

Sectional plan Wisconsin barn 196 



498 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS. 



Sectional view cigar barn 

Selling hogshead tobacco at 
auction Ijy sample 

Setting plants by hand 

Setting plants in Tennessee 

Side elevation German barn. . . 

Side view German frame 

Sims, John 

Spearing tobacco onio lath — 

Stamping room in factory 

Stoves and flues for curing 
seedleaf 

Street scene in Louisville mar- 
ket 

Stringing Sumatran seedleaf .. 

Stripping casks for inspection 
at Cincinnati 

Sucker, heavy shi]>ping 

Sumatran seedleaf 36, 

Sweated wrapper 

Ta|)pan, AVallace 

Tui>acco drinker 

Toba(!CO field in old Virginia... 

T()l)acco in storage 

Tobacco miner 

Tobacco sale at Clarksville . . : . 



Tobacconist's shop, 1600 — .... 6 
Tobacco smoked through tube. 4 
Tobacco worm of the Nortii — 242 
Tobacco worm of the South ... 244 
Topping heavy shipping leaf .. 294 

Transplanting machine 160 

Transplanting tobacco in olden 

times 14 

Traveling cutworm 223 

Tree cricket 227 

Typical negro helper 324 

Vertical section Wisconsin 

barn 195 

Vuelta Abajo 446 

Wagon for hauling 306 

Watering set iilanis 165 

Weighing hogslieads 280 

Wei 1 braced frame 177 

White Burley...40, 44, 48. 52, 346, 349 
White Burley hung in barn — 34!) 
White Burley hung in tield ... 334 

White Burley on scaffohl 338 

Wimljerly, Geo. L x 

Wooden frame for plant bed... 117 
Wrapper room in plug factory. 456 



INDEX. 



Analyses 

Chemical, of plants 485 

Cottonliull ash 139 

Cottonseed meal 125 

Manures and fertilizers em- 
ployed 112 

Seed 485 

Soils 336 

Yellow tobacco soils 359 

Anderson, T. C 213 

Andross xiii, 401 

Area devoted to tobacco 

Heavy shipping 291 

In United States 17 

Periqne 7(J 

White Burlej 333 

Yellow 12 

Assorting 

Cigar leaf 430 

Heavv leaf 318, 450 

AVhite Barley 347 

Yellow 367 

Austin, H 206 

Bacteria and tobacco 

Curing and manufacture 91-104 

In sweating tobacco 103 

Molds 91 

Office in curing 95 

Office in fermentation 99 

Reproduction of 92 

Special cultures 102 

Yeast ferments 91 

Barns 

Arrangement flues 194 

Balloon frame 207 

Best localities for building.. . 188 

Capacity square 193 

Cigar leaf 186, 187, 201 

Clarksville district heavy 

leaf 173-175 

Florida 200 

Flues for curing yellow 185 

Frame 176-178 

Framed in South 185 

German 199, 200, 203 

Havana leaf 201 

Heavy leaf ; 179-185 

Improvement in 179 

Kentucky 170, 171 

Log 172,183,193 

Manufacturing tobacco 179 

Most approved 193 

Mud walls of 195 

Northern cigar leaf 206 

Ohio 205 

Pennsylvania 205 

Size 179 

[499] 



Snow 188-190, 196 

Square 193 

Ventilation In 204 

White Burley 180, 189 

Wisconsin 206 

Yellow 182-184, 191, 196 

Behrens, Dr. J 95, 98, 101 

Books on tobacco culture. . .496, 497 

Bordeaux mixture 245 

Broun, Le Roy ix 

Browder, Thos. E xii 

Burn of tobacco 

Conditions for good 84 

Effect of chlorine 83 

Effect of mineral salts 84 

Important in cigars 396 

Injured by coarse nitroge- 
nous matter 110 

Poquonock experiment 83, 396 

Results by Nessler 82 

Schloesing 83 

Cameron and Cameron x 

Carpenter, F. G x, 486 

Carr, Julian S xii 

Carr, S. P viii, x, 277 

Chapman, Mr ." 207 

Cigarettes 

Method of manufacture 465, 

Number made per day 466 

Production in United States. 465 

Tobacco for 465 

Cigar leaf 

Ability of United States to 

produce its own 381 

Amount paid for imported. .. 381 

Assorting 72, 430 

Binders 73 

Buying leaf 72 

Casing or boxing 431 

Colors 73 

Cost of producing 385 

Cultivation (see Chap, on Cul- 
ture) 

Culture at South and West. .. 385 

Distribution of crop 389 

Fillers 73 

General considerations 379 

Gum in leaf 75 

Hanging 424 

Harvesting 421 

Hawaiian Islands 381 

Importance of attention to 

details 389 

Mexican 381 

Pennsylvania experience — 408 

Preparation of soil 409 

Prices for 38? 



500 



INDEX. 



Priming 415 

Quality 385, 387, 395 

Cigar leaf at the West and South 

Calif oi'nia 435 

Colorado 435 

Fermentation house in Fla... 443 
Fertilizers used in Florida... 444 

Florida soil 446 

Florida 435 

Georgia 435 

Harvesting in Florida 448 

Nebraslta 433 

Planting in Florida 444 

Quantity fertilizer applied .. 392 

Ripening 418 

Rotation of crops 407 

Soils 405 

Special fertilization 391 

Status of industry 379 

Stripping 425 

Suckering 418 

Sweating 431 

Texas 435 

Varieties 71, 409 

Washington 435 

Wisconsin 433 

Yield of wrappers 396 

Cigar manufacture 

Casing 468 

Flavoring or scent 473 

Form cigars 472 

Handmade cigars 471 

Machinery 468 

Packing 473 

Prepari ng for work 471 

Regulations 407 

Stripping 409 

Waste from 474 

Clark, Lewis R vii, xi 

Clark, M. H vii, xi 

Clingman, Gen. T. L 475 

Classification 46, 78 

African shippers 49, 69 

Chewing 47, 50 

Cigars 49, 71 

Cigar and snu)king 71 

Continental shippers 49, 58 

English shippers 49, 54 

Fine cut and plug fillers 47 

For exportation 49 

Mex i CO (see America and West 

Indies shippers) 47, 70 

Navy plug 58 

Nondescript 71 

Plug wrappers 47, 53, 57 

Smoking 49 

Stems 71 

Stogy wrappers 77 

Yellow . 69 

Climatic effect 29, 46 

Cohn 101, 102 

Competition 

Foreign leaf 21 

Composition 

At various stages of growth 84, 485 

Average cigar leaf. 486 

Connecticut broadle.af 

Description of 35 I 



Plant in flower 23 

Topped plant 19 

Connor, H. G xii 

Constituents of leaf 

Ash or mineral 82, 89 

Effect of 82 

How to supply 84 

Magnesia 397 

Nicotine 79, 291, 295 

Nitrogen 89, 101 

Starch 81 

Sugar 81 

Woody fiber 81 

Consumption 

European countries 16 

France 16 

Increase 16, 26 

Per capita 16 

United States 16,492 

Commercial distinctions 46 

Culture 

Cigar leaf tobacco 404, 432 

Cross fertilization 31 

Kentucky 7 

Mexico 27 

Origin and spread 3 

Yellow tobacco 10 

Culture cigar leaf 

Cult i vation 405, 412 

Management of crop 415 

Preparation of soil 409 

Priming 417 

Rotation of crops 407 

Soils 404 

Topping 417 

Varieties 409 

Curing 

Artilicial 226 

Assorting 430 

Casing or boxing 431 

Escai)e of water in 226 

Hanging 424 

Harvesting 421 

Heavy shipi^ing , .216, 217 

House 227 

In leaf vs. stalk 215 

Leaf alone vs. on stalk 231 

Loss of weight in 224 

Object in 218 

I'ennsylvania resulls 226 

Reordering 325 

Ripening 418 

Seedleaf 221 

Strijiping 425 

Sucli ering 418 

Sweating 215, 431 

Temperature 209, 215, 219 

Time required 211, 224 

White Burley 219 

Wisconsin experiments 226 

Yellow 209 

Cutting 

Hest weather for 313 

In hot sun . 313 

Cutworms (see I'ests) 

Paroczi, Dr 410 

Davidson ix, 88,90,485 

Davis, R. 15 211 



IHDEX. 



5U1 



Development 

Cigar making 18 

Compared witli other iiuliis- 

tries 18 

Deli Maatscliappy's enteii)rise 383 

Dibrell, Wm. M x 

Diffeiulerfer, F. R ix, xiii 

Diseases of tobacco 

A new disease 241 

Black fire 238 

Frencliing 240 

Hollow stalk 241 

House burn 218 

Leprosy 237 

Of growing jjlants 238 

Pole burn 9(5, 208, 217, 230, 233 

Spotted leaf 240 

Stem rot 98, 235 

Walloon or Waterlooii 241 

White veins. 98, 208, 235 

Distance between plants 

Connecticut broadleaf 411 

Havana seed 411 

Heavy shipping 299 

Dowell, Chas xi 

Duties 

Collected in 1590 by England. 6 

Effect of McKinley duty 383 

Higher duties to come 381 

Imposeil 15 

Levied in 1(;19 5 

Of 1883 380 

On strips. 285 

DuBon, Jolin E xiii 

Exports 

Of America to Austria C2 

Azores and Madeira Island .. Cti 

Belgium (>9 

Denmark 07 

First 5 

For four years before Revo- 
lution 7 

France 58 

From provinces of Maryland 

and Virginia C, 7 

Germany 05 

Italy 01 

Netherlands 07 

Portugal 00 

Spain 02 

Sweden and Norway 00, 07 

United Kingdom 54 

Export tobacco 

African shipjiers 49, 09 

Continental sliippers 49, 58 

Englisli sliippers 49, 54 

Mexico, South America and 

West Indies 49, 70 

Regie types 58 

Stems 71 

Trade. 282 

Family 27 

Fertilizers 

Acid phosphate 112 

Actusu requirements 116 

Ammonia 123 

Ammonite 112 

Amouut tu apply ■ • 1:^0 



Analyses of 112 

Applying lime 143 

Applying potash salts 138 

Availability of nitrogen 121 

Availability of different ni- 
trogenous manures 122 

Barn manure 114 

Best time to apply 119 

Bone black 112 

Castor bean pomace 113, 122,127,394 

Chlorides 109 

Commercial 147, 394, 407 

Cottonseed hull ashes 

112, 139, 395, 397 

Cottonseed meal 113, 122, 123 

Demands of tobacco 89 

Dissolved bone black 112 

Double manure salt 112 

Dried blood 112, 122, 130 

Effect on soil 80, 118 

Fish 113, 122, 131 

Formulas 145, 140 

Gluten meal 127 

Gypsum 112 

Hen manure, fresh 113 

Horn and hoof 122 

Horse manure 113 

Irrigating tobacco 106 

Kainit 112 

Krugit Ill 

Leather 122 

Lime 112, 142 

Linseed or flaxseed meal 

113,122, 126,395 

Manufactured 147 

Manure 114 

Manuring heavy leaf 297 

Mechanical condition .. Ill 

Muriate of potash 112 

Nitrate of potash 112 

Nitrate of soda 112, 122, 135 

Ni trogen 120, 394 

Nitrogen salts 133 

Peruvian guano 112 

Plant food removed by to- 
bacco 88, 90 

Plaster 112 

Potash necessary 130 

Potash salts 137, 140, 408 

Principles of 108 

Seed bed l.")9 

Sheep manure 113 

Soft Florida phosphate 112 

South ('arolina floats 112 

South Carolina rock phos- 
phate ~ 113 

Special for cigar leaf (see 

Chap. XVIII) 

Sulphate of ammonia 112, 134 

Sulpliateof lime 144 

Sulphate of magnesia 112 

Sulphate of potash 112 

Supplying 84 

Tankage 113, 122, 128 

Temperature and rainfall 100 

Tobacco leaf 113 

Tobacco stems 113, 141 

Using cumiuercial, 147, U'J, 397, 4U1 



502 



INDEX. 



Vahie of manure 115 

What not to use 109 

White Burley 344 

Wood ashes 112, 140, 390 

Financial interests'represented 20 

Foot, Walter A xii 

Frear, Prof. Wm. 

ix, 91, 208, 226, 232, 486 

Frye, H. S xii, xiii 

Fulton , A. W xiii 

Garman, Prof. H ix 

Gentry ,"Jas. M x 

Goessnian, Prof. C. A x, 486 

Goff, E. S x, 224, 226, 230, 233 

Gummy substances 

Affected by distance in plant- 
ing 301 

Belgian cutter 67 

Chewing tobacco 50, 53 

Cigar leaf 75 

Destroyed by house burn .... 181 

German types 63, 65 

Heavy shipping 295, 310, 312 

In Southern States 30 

Perique contains 371 

Plug wrappers 54 

Present in tobacco 81 

Scotch Elder 58 

Shag 57 

Shii)pers for Mexico 70 

Hanging 

Cigar leaf 424 

Distance of poles apart 424 

Heavy 314 

Number of plants on pole — 424 

With lath 424 

With twine 424 

Harthill, Alex xii, xiii 

Havana 

Cuban 382 

Cultivating 414 

Culture 387 

Description of 37 

Management of crop 415 

Plant :n flower 32 

Topped plant 28 

Heavy shipping 

Assorting and prizing 320, 321 

Color of soil for 294 

Cultivating 303 

Culture 298, 313 

Curing 290 

Cutting and housing 310 

Distance between plants 301 

Districts 291 

Favorite varieties 43 

Field ready to be hung 300 

Hanging 314 

Kentucky field of 292 

Laying off land for 299 

Manuring 297 

Name 290 

Number of leaves left 308 

Ordering 323 

Preparation of new ground for 302 

Preparation of soil for 295 

Seed plant 60 

Soil for ,,,, 291 



Topped leaf . 56 

Topping 294, 307 

Transferring from field to 

barn 317 

Worming 310 

History 4 

Florida 9 

In New England 8 

Kentucky 7 

Miami valley 9 

North Carolina 10 

Pennsylvania 9 

Tennessee 12 

Virginia 4, 10 

White Burley 12 

Wisconsin 9 

Yellow tol)acco 10 

Hoeing machine 413 

Hogslieads 

Shipping tobacco 326 

Size 326, 348 

Weight 7 

Wood made of 327 

Imports 

Increase in 22 

Leaf tobacco 380 

Sumatran 9, 383 

Insects 

Crickets 247 

Flea beetle 243 

Grasshoppers 247 

Snow fleas 243 

See Pests 

Irrigation 106, 107 

Florida tobacco 447 

Jenkins, Dr. E. H.. ..ix, 392, 443, 486 
Johnson, Dr. S. W. .x, 88, 90, 161, 486 

Kendi-ick, J. C xi 

Kerr 356 

Kerr, Norman 24 

Killebrew, A. B xi 

Killebrew, J. P xi 

Lee, J. G ii 

Lowell, O. K 482 

Manufacture 

Amount for chewing 17 

Cigar 18, 467 

Cigarettes 18. 464, 488 

Development 18, 488 

Favorite varieties for 43 

Fine cut 488 

Money invested. 20 

Pipe-smoking tobacco 462 

Plug tobacco 453, 488 

Smoking 489 

Snuff 459 

Snuff, lugs and smokers — 66, 489 

Varieties for smoking 49 

Varieties for cigars 49 

Manure 

Analyses 112, 113 

B^rn 114 

Content of average ton 116 

Definition 114 

Effect on soil 118 

Feed affects quality 115 

Fertilizing slow to act 117 

Promotes quick fermentation 118 



INDEX. 



503 



Value of 115 

Markets 

Austria 62 

Belgium 67 

Clarksville 8 

Denmark 07 

France 58 

For lieavy shipping 28G 

Germany 57, 65 

Great Britain 54 

Italy 61 

Louisville 8 

Netherlands 66, 67 

Russia 65 

Spain 62 

Sweden and Norway 66 

Switzerland 66 

United Kingdom 54 

Marketing 

Assorted for 275 

Auction system 279 

Cigar leaf 263 

Cincinnati market 266 

Competition in 264 

Drawing samples 271 

Ex port trade 282 

Loose 267 

Magnitude heavy leaf trade. 286 

New England 263 

Prized or inspected leaf 269 

Shipping tobacco 272 

Stemmeries and strips 282 

Storage and auction fees 273 

Strips 286 

Warehouse charges 281 

Warehouse system 265 

Yellow districts 277 

McKeage, B. F 4t>2 

Mason, Thos xi, xiii 

Moore, Gideon E 374, 48(> 

Moodie, Col. F. B yiii, xiv, 440 

Morse, W. C xiii 

Miiller-Thurgau 95 

Myrick, Lockwood xiii 

Name, derivation of 3 

Nature 27 

Negro labor 327 

Advantages of 329 

Characteristics 329 

Chiefly employed 327 

Difference between negro and 

white labor 331 

Employed by warehousemen 

as well as planters 329 

Nessler x, 83, 99 

Nicotine 

As active principle 79, 81 

Changes in amount 81 

Disappears in sweating 161 

Formation and accumulation 80 

Percentage of 53, 79, SO 

Nitrogenous fertilizers 

Ammonia 123 

Amount to apply 120 

Analyses 112, 113 

Availability 121, 122 

Best time to apply 119 

Cottonseed meal 123, 125 



Driedjblood 122, 130 

Dried flsh 122, 131 

Gluten meal 127 

Linseed or flaxseed meal 12(; 

Necessity of 120 

Nitrogen salts 135, 136 

Other sulistances 133 

See Fertilizers 

Pace, Capt. E. M xii, 214 

Packing 327 

Perique tobacco 

Area 370 

Carottes 376 

Cultivation of 372 

Curing 372 

DescriiJtion 39 

Harvesting 273 

Making of seed bed 371 

Nature of soil 371 

Quantity 370 

Pests 

Bordeaux mixture 245 

Broom rape 2.56, 258 

Bud worm 225, 247 

Crickets 247 

Cutworms 223, 245 

Early frost 260 

Flea beetle 243 

Grasshoppers 247 

Hail 259 

Horn worms 239 

Miner 237,249 

Moths of cutworms 223 

Red-legged grasshopper. .229, 235 

Remedies for 250 

Rust or fire blight 238 

Snow flea 243 

Sucking bugs 248 

Tree cricket 227 

Wind 261 

Wireworms 247 

Worm 242, 244, 250, 251 

Plant 

Analyses 485 

Composition Va. leaf 485 

Distance between leaves 27 

Flowers of 27 

Plant beds. . .115. 117, 119-121, 132, 148 

Poquonock resul is 

Burn of tobacco 83 

Fertilizer 105, 120, 391, 394 

Field 393 

Quality of crops 396 

Powell, E. P 262 

Price ' 

At interior markets 491 

Cigar leaf at N. Y .city 489 

Comparative 490 

In 17.54 in London 7 

In 17.54 in Virginia 7 

Increase 16 

In home and foreign markets 489 

Yellow wrappers 368 

Propagating from slips 410 

Pole burn 

Chief among diseases ... 233 

Description of 97 

In cigar leaf 419 



504 



INDEX. 



Notes in Wis. Exp 230, 233 

Occasioned by clianges in 

cui-iny 9G, 208 

Reiaecly tor 234 

Unknown in Florida 448 

Ventilators 217, 227 

Production 

Increase in United States. 17, 48G. 

Profits (>, 20 

Psyehronieter 211, 228 

Quality 

Influenced by soil and cli- 
mate 29 

Ragland, R. L 209, 214 

Revenues 

English in 1670 G 

English in 1731 G 

Government increase 18, 20 

Greatest producers of 15 

Internal lax 18 

Successful producer of 21 

Ridger 410 

Sanderson, W. W xiii, xiv, 402 

Schloesing, Th . . x, 83, 99 

Schultz, Jos. K 412 

Science and tobacco 79, 81, 90 

Scovell, M. A ix 

Seed 

Amount sown in Connecticut 153 
Analyses sown in South.. 153, 485 

Number to ounce 1G7 

Price of 1G4 

Raising best 1G3 

Selection of IGG 

Selecling plants 1G4 

Sprouting 153, 155 

Testing vitality 1G7 

Using too mucli 155 

Yield per acre of 1G4 

Seed be< I 

Best time for burning 159 

Burning 151 

Care plant beds 1G2 

Covering for beds 15G 

Florida 447 

Location seed bed 150 

Methods in dill'erent sections 158 

Perique 371 

Preparation and sowing 152 

Setting plants in Tenn. soil.. 154 

Sims, John xi, 3G3 

Slate, W. C 1G4 

Smith, J. B 3G4 

Snuff 

Kinds 459 

Maccaboy 4til 

I'roduct for '9G 489 

Rappee 459, 4G1 

Scotcli 459, 4G1 

Sweet 4G1 

Soil 

Cigar leaf 404 

('oh)r of soil affects color i)f 

leaf. 294 

Effect of manure on 118 

Effect on leaf 29, 4G 

Florida 444, 44(> 

Heavy shipping .291, 294, 296 



Poverty 87 

Soil vs. manures and fertili- 
zers 105 

Tobacco does notexhaust 08 

What tobacco takes from 88 

White Burley 335, 339 

Yellow 355, 358 

Status of industry 

Acres devoted to tobacco 17 

Advance in value IG 

Compared with other indus- 
tries 18 

Demand increasing IG 

Development in manufactur- 
ing 18 

Increase in consumption 16 

Increase in production 17 

Per capita consumption, in- 
crease IG 

Present 20, 22 

Stenimeries and strips 282 

Stemming 

Favorite varieties 45 

Stripping 

Condition for 427 

Method of 428 

When done 425 

Stubbs, Wm. C ix 

Sturgis, Dr. Wni. C .97, 98, 233 

Suchsland, Emil 102 

Sugg, Col. Isaac xii 

Sumatran leaf 

Amount required to wrap 

1000 cigars 381 

Average importation 381 

Countries experimenting with 381 

Description of 41 

Effect of McKinley duty 383 

Growing in Florida 434 

Imported into United States. 380 

Plant in ilower 36 

Profits of 381 

Quantity and value imports.. 383 

Topped plant 36 

Sweating 

Clianges during 101 

Nature of process 102 

Ordinary leaf 100 

Stogy 77 

Yellow 215 

Sydnor and Treadway xii 

Tal)les 

American crop 487 

Analyses of fertilizers . . . 112, 113 
Comparative relative prices 

490, 491 

Composition cigar leaf 486 

Composition Va. leaf 485 

Consumption anil taxation 

in United States 492 

Fertilizers usedatPoquonock 394 
Growth of manufacturing in 

each State 488 

Imports of leaf 380 

Number cigar jilanters and 

acreage 390 

Plant food removed by aver- 
age yield per acre 90 



INDEX. 



505 



VI ant food removed from an 
acre tobacco and other 

crops UO 

Pounds plant food removed 

from soil 88 

Prices and values citrar leaf . 390 
Prices cigar leaf N. Y. city. .. 489 

I'rices interior markets 491 

tonality PoquouDck crops 396 

Sumatran tobacco, quant) ly 

and value 383 

Yield per acre and toial crop 
cigar leaf 390 

Tappan, Wallace x, xiii 

Tariff 

Of 1883 494 

Of 1890 9 

In different years 494 

Taxes 

Direct 21 

English 15, 58 

Internal revenue 18, 494 

United Stales 492 

Tazzinari experiments 24 

Thomason, Jas. I xii 

Thompson, W. C xii 

Tobacco as a remedy 

Cholera morbus . . 480 

Decline 475 

Effect 477 

For sprains, bruises, etc 475 

Insect 481 

Kind of tobacco 477 

Neuralgia 481 

Poultice 475, 477 

Skin diseases 475, 4 ('9 

Sore eyes 475 

Transplanting 

Field ready for machine 162 

Hand 170 

Machine at work 160 

Machine-set |>lants 173 

Prej)aration for 109 

Replanting 173 

Time ol 176, 178 

Watering plants after 172 

Types 

15elgi;in cutter 67 

Clarksville 67 

Dutch saucer 66 

Frencii regie 58 

German saucer 63 

German spinner 63 

Scotch elder 58 

Snuff lugs and smokers 6G 

Swiss wrapper C6 

Uses 

As disinfectant 24 

First 3 

Is its use injurious?.. 14, 22, 24 
As a remedy (se« Chapter on 
Tobacco as a Reincily) 

Value 

Advajice in 10 

Varieties 

Adcock 34 

Baden 34 

Baltimore Cuba 34 



Ray 34 

Real-All 34 

Relkujip 34 

Hoiiauza 42 

RulUace 34 

Bullion 42 

Bullock 35 

Rurley, White 35, 40, 44, 48, 52 

Chewing 43 

Clardy 35 

Climax 42 

Connecticut seedleaf 17, 23, 35 

Cu ba 35 

Cunningham 35 

Duck Isiaml 35 

Favorite in the South 43 

Flanagan, 37 

Florida 37 

Frederick 37 

Glcssner 37 

Gold tinder 42 

Gooch 37 

Gourd leaf 37 

Governor Jones 37 

Havana seed 28, 32, 37, 71 

Heavy shipping 60 

Heavy stemming 45 

Hester 37 

Hickory leaf 37 

Honduras 43 

Johnson green 38 

Kentucky yellow 44 

Kitefoot 38, 78 

Little Dutch 38, 78 

Locks 38, 74 

Long green 38 

Lancaster broadleaf 38 

Lovelady 38 

Mahogany wrappers 45 

Mann 38 

New manufacturing 42, 43 

Nicotiana pessica 29 

Nicotiana repando 29 

Nicotiana lustica 29 

Orinoco, short 38 

Orinoco, big 38 

Orinoco, yellow 38 

Pennsylvania seedleaf 39 

Perique ...39, 76 

Pittsylvania, yellow ... 39 

Pryor, blue 39 

Pryor, silky 39,64, 68 

Pryor, yellow.. 39 

Pryor, white 39 

Ragland's Conqueror 42 

Ragland's Improved Orinoco, 42 

Red Burley 12 

Safrano 42 

Shoestring 39 

Sleek stem 39 

Smoking 43 

Spanish seed... 39 

Suniatran seed 36, 41 

Thickest 41 

Twist bud 41 

Vallandigham 41 

AVand 41 

White-stem Orinoco 41 



506 



IXDEX. 



Williams 41 

Wilson's liybrid 41 

Yellow 43, 69, 74 

Yellow niauiniol.h 41, 56 

Zimnier's Spanish 42 

Ventilation (see Uarns) 

Warehouses 

First established 7 

Greenville 260 

North Carolina 264 

Water in leaf 

Brought to surface by sap- 
ping 210 

For making strips 285 

In tobacco ready for curing. . 215 
Rate of passing off 225 

Weather 

Cool 316 

In relation to fertilization. . . 106 

Weight 

Casks for tobacco 455 

Connecticut crop 89 

Leaf cured in stalk 232 

Loss in making strips 284 

Loss in sweating 432 

Viiginla tobacco 88 

White Burley 

Assorting and si iiflfing 346 

Best cutting leaf 3.50 

Care of growing crop 345 

Character of leaf U 

Curing 11 

Cutting 3M 

Description' of 35 

Experiments with 333 

Fertilization .and rotation . .. 344 

Harvesting 346 

Largest producing counties 

of 333 

Manufacturing leaf 350 

Origin 11 

Packing for marlcet 348 

Preparation of land 343 

Prizing 348 



Seed plant 44 

Soils of 335, 339 

Topped plant 40, 48, 52 

Topping 345 

Two varieties 341 

Where grown 333 

Whitney, Mr 405 

Williamson, Bright xil 

Wimberly, Geo. L x, xv, 210 

Wrapper 

Favorite varieties for ma- 
hogany 45 

Per cent, of in sugar crop. . . . 388 

Plug 53,57,459 

Yellow 368 

Wright Co., J X 

Yellow tobacco 

Altitudes grown in 352 

Assorting 367 

Classiflcaiion wrappers 368 

Cultivation 11, 361 

Curing 366 

Cutters 369 

Description of 41 

Favorite varieties 43 

Fertilizers for 361 

Fillers 368,369 

Finest leaf 353 

Harvesting 362 

Management afler curing — 366 

Origin 10,357 

Patents for stringing 363 

Planting 361 

Preparation of land 359 

Quantity produced 352 

Rise and progress 10 

Seed plant 68 

Smokers 369 

States grown in 11 

Stripping from stalk 362. 364 

Topped plant 64, 74 

Topping 362 

Typical soils for 11, 355, a58 

Wrappers 368, 369 



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VHiokf will ^e Forwarded, postoaid. en receiut ot Pric«> 



i4usiirooms : How to d ow Them. 

Any one who has an ordinary house cellar, woodshed or barn, can 
grow Mushrooms. This is the most praclieal work on the subject 
ever written, and the only book on growing Mushrooms published 
in America. The author describes how he grows Mushrooms, and 
how they are grown tor profit by the leading niarketgardeners, and 
for home use by the most successful private growers. Engravings 
drawn from nature expressly for this work. By Wm. Falconer 
Cloth. Price, postpaid. 1,5 

Land Draining:. 

A Handbook for Farmers on the Principles and Practice of Drain 
ing, by Manly Miles, giving the results of his extended experience 
in laying tile drains. The directions for the laying out and the 
construction of tile drains will enable the farmer to avoid the 
errors of imperfect construction, and the disappointment that 
must necessarily follow. This manual for practical farmers will 
also be found convenient for references in regard to many ques- 
tions that may arise in crop growing, aside from the special sub- 
jects of drainage of which it ti-eats. Cloth, 12mo. 1.00 

Allen's New American Farm Book. 

The very best work on the subject; comprising all that can be con- 
densed into an available volume. Originally by Richard L. Allen. 
Revised and greatly enlarged by Lewis F. Allen. Cloth, 12mo. 2.i^0 

Henderson's Gardening: for Profit. 

By Peter Henderson. The standard work on Market and Family 
Gardening. The sticcessful experience of the author for more than 
thirty years, and his willingness to tell, as he does in this work, the 
secret of his success for the benefit of others, enables him to give 
most valuable information. The book is profusely illustrated. 
Cloth, 12mo. ?no 

Henderson's Gardening: for Pleasure. 

A guide to the amateur in the fruit, vegetable and flower garden 
with full descriptions for the greenhouse, conservatory and window 
garden. It meets the wants of all classes in country, city and vil- 
lage wiio keep a garden for their own enjoyment rather than toi 
the sale of products. By Peter Henderson. Finely Illustrated 
Cloil'. 12mo. 2.0( 

Johnson's How Crops Grow. 

New Edition. A Treatise on the Chemical Composition, Structure 
and Life of the Plant. Revised Edition. This book is a guide to 
the knowledge of agricultural plants, their composition, their 
struct iir(^ and modes of development and growth; of the complex 
organizations of plants, and the use of the ])arts;the germination 
of seeds, and the food of pl:uits obtained both from the air and 
the sou. The book is a valuable one to all real students of agricul- 
ture. With numerous illustrations and tables of analysis. By Prof. 
SamueJ W. Johnson of Yale Collega. Cipth, 12mo. 2.00, 



STANDARD bUOKB. 

Johnson's How Crops Feed. 

A Treatise on the Atmosphere and the Soil, as related In the 
Nutrition ot Agricultural Plants. This volume— the companion and 
complement to "How Crops Grow" — has been welcomed by those 
who appreciate the scientific aspects of agriculture, illustrated 
By Prof. Samuel \V. Johnson. Cloth, 12mo. 2.O0 

Market Gardening and Farm Notes. 

By Barnet Landreth. Experiences and Observations for both 
North and South, of interest to the Amateur Gardener, Trucker and 
Farmer. A novel feature of the book is the calendar of farm and 
garden operations tor each month of the year; the chapters on 
fertilizers, transplanting, succession and rotation of crops, the 
packing, shipping and marketing of vegetables, will be especially 
useful to market gardeners. Cloth, 12mo. l.OC 

Forest Planting. 

A Treatise on the Care of Woodlands and the Restoration of the 
Denuded Timber-Lands on Plains and Mountains. By H. Nicholas 
Jarchow, LL. D. The author has fully described those European 
methods which have proved to be most useful in maintaining the 
superb forests of the old world. This experience has been adaptei. 
to the different climates and trees of America, full instructions be 
ing given for forest planting on our various kinds of soil and suL 
soil, whether on mountain or valley. Illustrated, 12mo. 1.5C 

Harris' Talks on Manures. 

By Joseph Harris, M. S., author of "Walks and Talks on the Farm," 
"Harris on the Pig," etc. Revised and enlarged by the author. A 
series of familiar and practical talks between the author and the 
Deacon, the Doctor, and other neighbors, on the whole subject of 
manures and fertilizers; including a chapter especially written for 
it, by Sir John Bennet Lawes of Rothamsted, England. Cloth, 
12mo. ■'•T5 

Truck Farming at the South. 

A work which gives the experience of a successful grower of vege- 
tables or " truck" for Northern markets. Essential to any one who 
contemplates entering this promising field of Agriculture. By A. 
Oemler of Georgia. Illustrated, cloth, 12mo. 1.6C 

Sweet Potato Culture. 

Giving full instructions from starting the plants to harvesting and 
storing the crop. With a chapter on the Chinese Yam. By James 
Fitz, Keswich, Va., author of "Southern Apple and Peach Culture." 
Cloth, 12mo. .60 

Heinrich's Window Flower Garden. 

riie author is a practical florist, and this enterprising volume em 
Dodies his personal ex]ierieiices in Window Gardening during a 
long period. New and enhirged edition. By Julius J. Heinrich 
S'ully illustrated. Clotli. l2mo. /5 



Greenhouse Constructioik. 

By Prof. L. R. Taft. A complete treatise on Greenhouse stnictnres 
and arrangements of tlie various forms and styles of Plant Houses 
for professional florists as well as amateurs. All the best and most 
approved structures are so fully and clearly described that anyone 
who desires to build a Greenhouse will have no difficulty in deter- 
mining the kind best suited to liis purpose. The modern and most 
successful methods of heating and ventilating are fully treated 
upon. Special chapters are devoted to houses used for the growing 
of one kind of plants exclusively. The construction of hotbeds 
and frames receives appropriate attention. Over one hundred ex 
cellent illustrations, specially engraved for this work, make everj 
point clear to the reader and add considerably to the artistic ap 
pearance of the book. Cloth, 12mo. 1.50 

Bulbs and Tuberous-Rooted Plants. 

liy C. L. Allen. A complete treatise on the History, Description, 
Methods of Propagation and full Directions for the successful cul- 
ture of Bulbs in the garden, Dwelling and Greenhouse. As gener- 
ally treated, bulbs are an expensive luxury, while, when properly 
managed, they afford the greatest amount of pleasure at tlie least 
cost. The author of this book has for many years made bulb grow- 
ing a specialty, and is a recognized authority on liluiir cullivatioii 
n-id management. The illustrations which embellish this work 
liavc been drawn from nature, and have beeii engraved especially 
toi Ihis book. The cultural directions are plainly stated, practical 
and to llie point. Cloth, 12mo. 2.00 

Henderson's Practical Floriculture. 

By Peter Henderson. A guide to the successful! propagation and 
cultiv.ation of florists' plants. The work is notone for florists and 
gardeners only, but the amateur's wants are constantly kept in 
mind, and we have a very complete treatise on the cultivation of 
flowers under glass, or in the open air, suited to those who grow 
flowers for pleasure as well as those who make them a matter of 
trade. Beautifully illustrated. New and enlarged edition. Cloth, 
12mo. 1.50 

Long's Ornamental Gardening: for Americans. 

.\ Treatise on Beautifying Homes, Rural Districts and Cemeteries. 
A plain and practical work at a moderate price, with numerous 
illustrations and instructions so plain that they may be readily 
followed. By Elias A. Long, Landscape A.rchitect. Illustrated, 
Clotli, 12mo. 2.00 

The Propagation of Plants. 

By Andrew S. Fuller. Illustrated with numerous engravings. An 
eminently practical and useful work. Describing the process of 
hybridizing and crossing speiMes and varieties, and also the many 
dlffeient modes by which cultivated plants may be propagated ana 
-isultiolied. Cloth, 12mo. 1-60 



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